Istanbul. Turkish police fired water cannons and used pepper spray against protestors in central Istanbul Thursday after being pelted with eggs and stones at a demonstration over the death of a retired teacher, AFP reported.
The clashes in the central Mecidiyekoy neighbourhood lasted for around an hour and triggered widespread traffic disruption, said witnesses.
Police could be seen beating and detaining at least three protestors, while one officer was hurt in the clashes, said an AFP photographer at the scene.
The unrest broke out when several hundred trade union members and followers of small leftist parties gathered in front of the building of the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) to protest the death of a retired teacher in a melee that broke out in Black Sea town of Hopa on Tuesday.
According to a preliminary autopsy, the victim died of heart failure triggered by the spraying of pepper gas by the police.
The incident in Hopa has added to tensions ahead of the country’s June 12 parliamentary vote.
via Police fire water cannons in Istanbul riots – FOCUS Information Agency.
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