Alarm at Turkish plan to expand powers of nightwatchmen
The Turkish parliament is considering a bill that would greatly expand the powers of a 28,000-strong network of nightwatchmen across the country, a move viewed by critics as an attempt to create an auxiliary police force loyal to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A draft law discussed by MPs on Monday would allow bekçiler, or night-time community officers, to carry out identification checks and body searches and would authorise the use of lethal force. A vote expected this week is likely to pass the measures.
Neighbourhood bekçiler armed with whistles and batons used to be a common presence in Turkey, often affectionately referred to as “uncles” looking out for burglars and petty criminals. The system was abolished in 2008 but revived in 2016 after the failed coup against Erdoğan’s government.
The current generation of nighttime community officers are mostly younger men with links to the youth wing of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP). They are supposed to serve as backup for police officers dealing with criminals and protesters.
A string of terrorist attacks over the last decade mean many Turks are grateful for the extra attention to public safety, but there have been dozens of reports of the new officers beating civilians. Since they were given the right to carry guns in January this year, at least one civilian has been non-fatally shot.
The new bill says the community officers will receive instruction in human rights and firearms use, but opposition MPs and rights groups say the stipulated 40 hours of training is not adequate for an auxiliary security force.
Several politicians have drawn comparisons with Iran’s Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose members beat and harass civilians who fall foul of the country’s strict morality laws.
Lütfü Türkkan, of Turkey’s opposition İyi party, tweeted: “A night watch horror has started in this country. They are reckless.”
Emma Sinclair-Webb, Human Rights Watch’s Turkey director, said:
“The passing of a law increasing the powers of community officers to intervene in place of the regular police is a troubling demonstration of the growing securitisation of all aspects of life in
Turkey.
“We are particularly concerned too about the lack of oversight mechanisms to regulate these community officers and to hold them to account when they abuse their powers. There is a pervasive culture of police impunity already, and oversight of these officers is even more unclear and vague than it is for the regular police.”
Naci Bostancı, an AKP parliamentary whip, dismissed the allegations, telling Bloomberg that “the watchmen are part of the security forces, who are serving everyone.”
Erdoğan’s government has steadily increased the scope and size of the security forces since protests broke out around the country over the redevelopment of Istanbul’s Gezi park in 2013. The 2016 coup attempt accelerated the process.
A total of 403 people died at the hands of Turkish police between 2009 and 2017, according to the Baran Tursun Foundation, a non-profit organisation that focuses on police brutality.