After the racist murder in Istanbul of the Kurdish street musician Cihan Aymaz on 3 May, protests broke out in the city.

On Wednesday, the Green Left Party organized a memorial event at the crime scene. Relatives of Aymaz also spoke at the commemoration. Following the rally, two activists were followed and arrested by the police. The two young men were taken to Rıhtım Police Headquarters. There they were insulted by the police, threatened and mistreated for several hours. They were then brought before the public prosecutor's office, accused of "resisting the authorities". They were eventually released after questioning.

The two torture victims turned to the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD). As lawyer Müslüm Kocaoğlu, who represents the two, reports, the traces of abuse were medically certified. Kocaoğlu explains that his clients were able to identify the torturers in uniform through the investigation files.

What happened

On Tuesday evening, the Kurdish street musician Cihan Aymaz (30) was murdered by a Turkish fascist on the open street in Istanbul-Kadıköy.

Mehmet Caymaz, the suspected murderer, is said to have asked the musician to start singing the nationalist-racist song Ölürüm Türkiyem (I die for you, Turkey). Aymaz probably refused, then the perpetrator stabbed and fatally injured the musician. He died in the Hospital. The killer was arrested.