What Hakan Yaman most wants for his birthday – what he most deserves – is justice from the state that has so tragically failed him. Today, you can help him get it with a birthday greeting through twitter.
Yaman, the father of two, is one of the thousands of victims of shocking police violence which Amnesty has described in its new report on the suppression of freedom in Turkey during the Gezi protests. Yaman, himself, was not even a protester, but simply returning home from work during the course of the protests. Mistaken for a protester, he was attacked by police who beat him, and dragged him on top of a street fire. Before leaving him, one police officer gouged one of his eyes out.
According to Yaman, “[The police] tried to kill me. They thought I was a protester and they tried to kill me.”
The Amnesty report notes the seriousness of his injuries:
“According to the forensic medicine report Hakan Yaman sustained serious injuries to his head and face. His nose, his cheek bone, and the bones of his forehead and his chin were broken. He lost one eye completely and has lost 80 percent of his sight in the other eye. His skull was fractured from the top of his head all the way down to his jaw and his back sustained second degree burns from being thrown on the fire. He lost consciousness during the attack.”
An interview with Hakan, along with amateur footage of the actual attack, can be seen in this Amnesty video.
Today, October 10, is Hakan’s birthday. He, along with other victims of police violence in Turkey deserve justice. Let’s show him that the world has not forgotten.
Use social media to get out the word. Share this information on Facebook and, if you use Twitter, send Hakan birthday greetings. Some possible Twitter messages, in Turkish and in English are:
Who beat #HakanYaman? On his birthday, send a message against impunity to Turkish authorities @aforgutu #iyikidogdunHakanYaman #GeziParki
Bugün #HakanYaman‘ın doÄŸum günü. #iyikidogdunHakanYaman Onu döven ve ateÅŸe atan polisler bulunsun ve cezalandırılsın. #GeziParki@RT_Erdogan
Today’s #HakanYaman‘s birthday. #iyikidogdunHakanYaman Police who beat and threw him into a fire must be found and punished. @RT_Erdogan