The France 24 Observers is both a website and a TV show focusing on international news through the lens of amateur images. All photos and videos are analyzed and verified by our team. Amateur videos show Turkish police violence against African migrants Amateur videos sent to the FRANCE 24 Observers team show police in Turkey stopping and questioning African migrants as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The videos, sent in by migrants from Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and Angola, show officers shouting at the migrants and in some cases using physical violence against them. A Senegalese man seen in one of the videos being slapped by a police officer told the FRANCE 24 Observers he was in Turkey legally. Issued on: 21/07/2023 - 17:53 Modified: 21/07/2023 - 17:59 4 min Amateur videos filmed in Istanbul on July 17, 2023 show Turkish police officers stopping and questioning African migrants during a crackdown on illegal migration. Amateur videos filmed in Istanbul on July 17, 2023 show Turkish police officers stopping and questioning African migrants during a crackdown on illegal migration. © The Observers Text by: Observers team Turkish authorities launched the crackdown at the beginning of July. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in an interview published July 9 that fighting illegal immigration is one of his main priorities, and that police in Istanbul and all of Turkey’s 81 provinces were intensifying their efforts to stop and detain people in the country illegally. In Istanbul, police on July 4 started a series of evening and nighttime sweeps focusing on entertainment venues and public spaces. They reported detaining 3,535 people in the first week on suspicion of entering Turkey illegally, working without authorisation, or overstaying their visas. Videos sent to The Observers by African migrants living in Turkey suggest that the police conduct is often violent and discriminatory. One video sent by migrants from Senegal and Guinea shows the police pinning down an African man in the middle of a crowd. The officers were not wearing uniforms, but they had handcuffs on them. The victim asked for his phone several times which angered the policeman holding him down. The officer shouted at him and then slapped him.

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Emmanuel Darko

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