KurdistanObserver.com

Turkish Rights Group Seeks Protest Violence Probe

By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A Turkish rights group called on Wednesday for a probe into what it called excessive use of force by police in breaking up protests marking the sixth anniversary of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan's capture.

Riot police sprayed tear gas and wielded batons on Tuesday to disperse hundreds of pro-Ocalan protesters in Istanbul and Diyarbakir, the main city in the largely Kurdish southeast. It was not clear how many people were injured or detained.

Local police said they were investigating the death from apparent gunshot wounds of a 19-year-old man in the southern port city of Mersin, where protesters threw rocks at police. There were also smaller clashes between police and demonstrators in the Aegean city of Izmir and the eastern town of Van.

Ocalan, serving a life sentence in a Turkish prison after special forces captured him in Kenya in 1999, still commands support among sections of the Kurdish population.

The Human Rights Association (IHD), a leading Turkish rights group, called on the Interior Ministry and prosecutors to launch administrative and judicial investigations into those responsible for Tuesday's violence.

"We in the Human Rights Association condemn this mode of operation which is based on violence, pressure and obstructing the exercise of rights," IHD Chairman Yusuf Alatas said in a statement.

A police spokesman said police had not yet issued a statement on the allegations of excessive force.