The Turkish police that was awarded unlimited rights with the new anti-terror law has increased torture and massacres. Nigerian Festus Okey who had come to Turkey with the hope to become a football player and played in different amateur football clubs was killed at the police station Beyoglu, Istanbul, which is always on the agenda for applying torture.
Nigerian Festus Okey was arrested together with his friend Mamaria Oga on August 20 and taken to the police station. According to Mamaria Oga, his friend Festus Okey was taken to the fifth floor and he stayed in the first floor.
After he was separated from his friend, Oga heard someone screaming and a shot. Immediately after that, a police officer came to Oga and told him that his friend had died. According to the autopsy report of the forensic medicine, Festus Okey had been shot.
ESP: Festus Okey’s murderers must be sentenced
The murder of Festus Okey by the police wanted to be hidden as it has happened so far in cases of other massacres of migrants. However, on August 31 when the ESP organised an action together with the Nigerian friends in front of Galatasaray High School to protest against the killing and when they demanded the punishment of the responsible forces, the case became public and discussed.
At the action of the Nigerian migrants and the ESP, ESP spokesman Ersin Sedefoglu hold a speech and the banner saying “Festus Okey was killed at the police station Beyoglu. His murderers must be punished” was opened.
Sedefoglu also reminded that news mistreating, torture and arbitrary arrest at the police station Beyoglu have increased and that the news on the murder of Festus Okey became public on August 20. Furthermore, Sedefoglu said that the murderers of Festus are the police officers that were on shift and the AKP government that gives them these rights: “We demand the punishment of those police officers that shot Festus and killed him under arrest, the closure of the police station Beyoglu that has turned into a torture centre and the abolishment of those laws giving the police more rights.”
Tekstil-Sen general president Ayse Yumli Yeter whose husband DISK/Limter-Is education specialist Suleyman Yeter was killed in 1999 under arrest at the anti-terror unit in Istanbul also hold a short speech in which she said that: “The migrant Festus Okey has shown us once again that the state continues with torture. In this countr, torture is realised systematically and it is a state policy”.
Iswe Iswe talked in the name of the Nigerian migrants and said that they live under very difficult conditions. He told that especially black people are treated badly and are discriminated. Iswe explained that he and his friends feel very sad for their friend killed.
After the speeches the mass shouted the slogans ”Human dignity will win over toture”, ”No to racism, long live the fraternity of the people” and ”Festus Okey`s murderers must be punished”.
A report published by the IHD and Mazlum-Der on September 6 shows that torture in Turkey is continued to be realised systematically. According to this report, 376 people have reported to be tortured in the first six months of 2007 and 3 people have died under arrest in June. By that, human right defenders showed that the statement of president Erdogan ”There is nothing like torture in my country” is a big lie.
Members of the Human Rights Association IHD organised an action in front of the police station Beyoglu and protested against the murder.
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