After a series of peaceful demonstrations for preserving a recreational area in Istanbul city centre, which is planned to be demolished for the construction of a shopping mall, Turkish police attacked the protesters at 05:00am on Friday morning violently with tear gas and water cannon, directly targeting their faces and bodies. Dozens of protesters are wounded and are being treated by doctors outside hospitals as they are not welcome there or are not able to reach the Emergency Rooms. Some are even reported dead.

The access to the park and other important areas is blocked without any legal basis. The riots have spread out to other major cities as Ankara and Izmir. In Ankara police is using pepper spray to attack civilians. Turkish media, directly controlled by the government or have business and political ties with it, refuse to cover the incidents. Press agencies also blocked the information flow. Since Saturday evening, social media such as Facebook and Twitter are not accessible to prevent information spreading among protestors.

Please share this message for the world to become aware of the police state created by AKP of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which is often considered to be a model for other Middle Eastern countries. Nevertheless, the prime minister is being considered a dictator by the protestors that takes the democratic way of decision making little into account. Turkish democracy expects your help. Thank you!

Reposted from http://occupygezi.com/