Turkish riot police move into Taksim Square

By Dilip -
• More than 50 lawyers arrested at court protest
• Erdogan praises police operation 
• Protesters claim police provocateurs threw petrol bombs
• Police use water cannon and teargas to breakup protests
• At the scene: share your stories, pictures and videos
• Read the latest summary

• Turkish riot police broke up a protest by lawyers at Istanbul's main court as they gathered to make a statement about police brutality. More than 50 lawyers were detained. Video footage showed that many of them were beaten.
• At least 15 people were treated in hospital, including one man with a brain injury, after police used teargas and water cannon to regain control of Taksim Square from anti-government protesters. Police briefly entered Gezi Park but were resisted by protesters. Earlier the governor of Istanbul had pledged that police would not enter Gezi Park.
• Protesters accused the security services of trying to provoke violence by using provocateurs to throw petrol bombs at police vehicles. Observers noted that the protest movement opposes violence and that those throwing the petrol bombs resembled policemen.
• Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the police operation and urged the protesters to leave the streets. He said: "I request all activists to see the big picture, understand the plot, and withdraw from the streets."

Audio summary from Constanze Letsch

Turkish police have regained control of Taksim Square but were rebuffed by protesters when they tried to enter Gezi Park, Constanze Letsch reports from Istanbul.
"A lot people I spoke to were angry at what they saw as deception from the government, and the governor who had promised not to intervene in the park," she said.
There is much uncertainty and speculation about who was responsible for throwing petrol bombs at the police, she added. Asked what could happen next she said:
The Turkish Communist party and several other parties and factions have called for a big meeting at 7pm Istanbul. I'm sure a lot of people will show up. Every evening was more crowded than the previous one. I'm not sure how the police are going to respond. We will have to see tonight.

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