ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey must investigate whether police used excessive force in a crackdown on days of anti-government demonstrations and hold those responsible to account, European Union enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele said on Friday.
“Peaceful demonstrations constitute a legitimate way for … groups to express their views in a democratic society. Excessive use of force by police against these demonstrations has no place in such a democracy,” Fuele said in a speech at a conference attended by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
“I am happy that even the government admitted that. What is important now, is not only to launch a swift and transparent investigation but also to bring those responsible to account.”
(Reporting by Asli Kandemir and Justyna Pawlak- Writing by Nick Tattersall- Editing by Daren Butler)