Simsek and Others v. Turkey (Applications nos. 35072/97 and 37194/97)

A selection of key paragraph(s) can be found below the document.

110. The Court observes that the Gazi incidents lasted for almost two days and the Ümraniye incident occurred the day after the Gazi events. It appears from the case file that the police officers who were on duty at both incidents enjoyed great autonomy of action, and they took initiatives whilst in the grip of panic and pressure, which they would probably not have taken had they had the benefit of proper training and instructions. The Court therefore cannot accept the Government’s argument and finds that the absence of a clear, centralised command was an important lacuna which must have increased the risk of police officers shooting directly at the crowd.

111. Furthermore, it was the responsibility of the Security Forces, who had been aware of the tense situation in both districts, to provide the necessary equipment, such as tear gas, plastic bullets, water cannons, etc., to disperse the crowd. In the Court’s view, the lack of such equipment is unacceptable.