Students Speak Up After Being Handcuffed For 9 Hours

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One of the 18 students who were detained last night after running away from the clashes in Istanbul Police Headquarters told bianet that they have been handcuffed in reverse fashion for 9 hours.

Keeping his name anonymous due to security reasons, the student said that they had arrived to the police station upon the news that their friends, who were detained in Istanbul University earlier, would be released soon.

When they arrived, however, two assailants, who are not linked to 18 students, assaulted the police headquarters, causing an armed clash.

“We found refuge in the parking lot of the adjacent tax office building. Then we were held by plain cloth policemen who handcuffed us in reverse fashion,” he said.

He went on to claim that he was assaulted while they were kept lying on the floor.

“We faced psychological and physical violence. A friend of ours suffered from broken nose,” he continued.

In the detention vehicle, all 18 students were forced to listen to nationalist song, according to the student.

“They released us around 2am in the morning after having our routine screening done in Haseki Hospital and giving our statement. We had to wait in handcuffs for 9 hours in total,” he said. (BK/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.