Scandal leaves blemish on badge

Failure of a single person to object as a group of thugs, dressed like police, dragged a woman out of a crowded restaurant, before taking her to a house and raping her repeatedly, has shook the nation.

The scene shows that fear of police authority prevails in the psyche of the Turkish people.

The incident happened last August in the Avcılar region of Istanbul but only came to light this week after suspects in the case were taken into custody. The five suspects, dressed as police, raided a crowded restaurant and dragged a woman by her hair, facing no resistance from patrons or restaurant staff.

Security footage of the incident shows how one of the attackers dragged the 25-year-old woman 50 meters to a waiting car, while others beat waitresses working at the restaurant.

Top law enforcement officials and the deputy prime minister, Cemil Çi?ek, said civilians had the right to demand identification from the officers, something significantly easier said than done.

The Istanbul police chief, Celalettin Cerrah, criticized the diners at the restaurant for not reacting to stop the attack, for not demanding to see police IDs and for failing to contact the authorities to report the incident.

"Ask to see the ID of any individual who approaches you claiming, 'I am the police.' If you are suspicious of the identification, then contact the authorities," Cerrah told reporters Tuesday.

Çi?ek also said no one should fear asking policemen to present their identification. Despite EU-inspired efforts to bring police behavior in line with European standards, the police force remains among the least trusted institutions in the country, according to opinion polls.

One food vendor, who identified himself only as Hüseyin, said: "If the man is dressed as an officer, we cannot request identification from him. They already give us enough trouble."

People are unaware of their rights when dealing with law enforcement officers, in addition to being clearly afraid of them, Fatih Mahmutoglu, a professor of law at Istanbul University, told the daily Milliyet. Lawyer Uğur Poyraz, speaking to Vatan daily, said knowing one's rights could not protect one from brutality.

"According to the law, police officers can only ask for identification after showing theirs. I have been a lawyer for 24 years. I have never seen this happen. Maybe one in a thousand have the courage to ask for an officer's ID. Unfortunately, if you ask the police officer for his or her identification first, bad things happen to you," said Poyraz.

He said a lawyer colleague of his, named Muammer ?z, was sitting with his family in a park when a police officer asked for his ID. "He asked them to show theirs first. He got fractured ribs and a broken nose and a leg. On top of that, he was also charged with resisting police," he said. Their efforts had resulted in the officers involved being charged, but "they still haven't appeared in court," Poyraz said.



European Unionreform

not implemented

Poyraz said EU reforms were passed but never implemented.

The fear of police officers allows others to abuse the problem, said Prof. Mahmutoğlu from Istanbul University. The cheap availability of uniforms does not help the problem either. The incident in Avcılar was committed by five people, two of whom were wearing uniforms that made them appear as police officers.

According to daily Milliyet, it costs YTL 85 to buy all the necessary clothes and accessories to look like the police.

The problem is there usually is a note at the door that asks patrons to show their official identification before purchasing their products. When asked by Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Havva Kaya, a scarf-seller, said she begins to shake in her boots when she sees a police officer.

"They can just come up to us and do what they want," she said. "How can we ask them for identification and make them even more angry?"

Psychiatrist Bengi Semerci said the general tendency among people not to get involved, coupled with the fear of the police, results in incidents like that in Avcılar. Still there are some who believe police officers are just trying to do their jobs.

Orhan Çimen, 45, said everyone should ask the police officers for their IDs. "They are just doing their jobs, and if they are officers it shouldn't be any problem," he said. "I have no fear that the officer will act out, I have a relative that is an officer, nobody would do anything."

He, however, asked, "What if the officer's ID is fake?"

The Interior Ministry yesterday said they would be introducing a more modern police ID card that is impossible to replicate. Also, they assigned two police chiefs to investigate the Avcılar case and learn how the men obtained the uniforms. The ministry said it would limit the availability of official police uniforms.

Meanwhile, the Istanbul Police Department announced yesterday that everyone could see an example of a police ID on its Internet site.