Kobani protests in Turkey: Human rights failures
In October 2014, protests erupted across the majority Kurdish south-east of Turkey in response to the advance of the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) on the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani/Ayn Al-Arab on Syria’s border with Turkey, then held by the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) armed group which has links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) an armed group in Turkey.
Up to 200,000 Syrian Kurdish refugees fled across the nearby border into Turkey. Demonstrators protested against the IS and those they claimed to be its supporters within Turkey and its government, who they alleged to be allowing the IS to advance. A week of protests and linked large-scale violence, left more than 40 people dead, including Kobani protestors, political opponents they accused of supporting IS, bystanders and three police officers. The clashes also brought scores of injuries and the
destruction of public and private property across the majority Kurdish south-east of Turkey and beyond.
This briefing identifies failures by the authorities to prevent deaths and injuries during clashes between rival groups, the use of excessive force by police officers resulting in deaths and injuries and the inability of the judiciary to provide justice and reparations for the victims.
