İSTANBUL -  Subjected to police violence during house raids in Istanbul, Vedat Özdemir said that he is having difficulty in breathing.

 

Many people, including Kurdish singer (Dengbêj) Xalide who is one of the artists of the Mesopotamia Culture Center (MKM), were detained during house raids carried out simultaneously to many addresses in Istanbul yesterday morning. Vedat Özdemir, residing in Bahçelievler district, was subjected to the violence of the police who raided his house. Özdemir's friend Münevver İlgin was detained while Özdemir against whom a warrant was not issued, was not detained.

 

Özdemir, who was beaten by the police and still has scars on his face, told what happened. Özdemir stated that during the raid, the policemen said, "We are doing our job," and that the police pushed both and kicked them while they were lying on the floor. Expressing that he received death blows to his head and ribs after being pushed to the floor, Özdemir said, “Even though I said that I already have a fracture in my head, the police continued to hit my head. After the raid, I went and get a assault report. They battered Münevver, but they battered me more. When I didn't even know what my crime was, they stormed the house and tortured me. I was beaten, they damaged my property."

 

'I CAN NOT BREATHE'

 

Stating that he could not breathe due to the violence he was subjected to, Özdemir said, “They are trying to intimidate and scare people with these attacks. I was beaten and tortured even though I did nothing wrong."

 

Those detained were taken to the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command. While a 24-hour attorney restriction was imposed on the detainees, it was not clear how many people were detained.