More than 10,000 people attempted to prevent the razing of Gezi Park in Istanbul, Turkey this week. The occupation turned violent when police began clashing with protesters.
Activists swarmed the area when news broke that 75-year-old trees in the park would be bulldozed to build a shopping mall.
wow, Turkish police men meet every prejudice of aggressive, macho, police-state attitude #occupygezi
Mirko Tobias Schäfer
@mirkoschaefer
wow, Turkish police men meet every prejudice of aggressive, macho, police-state attitude #occupygezi
Photos began appearing on social media of police using tear gas to push activists out of the area.
Protesters quickly took to Twitter and Instagram, organizing under the #DirenGeziParkı and #OccupyGezi hashtags.
tepsiyle böreğe misliyle biber gazı!! #direngeziparki #occupygezi
Kadir Kaymakcı
@Kadirkaymakci
tepsiyle böreğe misliyle biber gazı!! #direngeziparki #occupygezi
Images are also being uploaded to an Occupy Gezi Tumblr.
They were unable to stop the bulldozers.
#GeziParkıİçinTaksime yazık değil mi?
Balçiçek İlter
@Balciceki
#GeziParkıİçinTaksime yazık değil mi?
Shocking video of protesters putting on homemade gas masks as police shoot the crowd with tear gas.
View this video on YouTube
Photos of frightened occupiers are currently flooding Twitter, pushing #direngeziparki to the second highest trending tag worldwide Friday morning.
It's almost 6 am in Istanbul, the police burn down protesters' tents ‏at #occupygezi via @kiyametprojesi
Burcu Baykurt
@BurcuBaykurt
It's almost 6 am in Istanbul, the police burn down protesters' tents â€at #occupygezi via @kiyametprojesi
Along with tear gas, Istanbul law enforcement was also spraying occupiers with hoses to push them out of the park.
There are also unconfirmed reports of police aiming tear gas canisters at civilians.
THESE ARE BEING AIMED at protesters heads in GEZI PARK! #direngeziparki #occupygezi http://t.co/CtQT3DNEWi
Speak Out 4 Rojava!
@Hevallo
THESE ARE BEING AIMED at protesters heads in GEZI PARK! #direngeziparki #occupygezi http://t.co/CtQT3DNEWi
A Reddit thread organized around the riots describes a chaotic scene, with rumors circulating of police jamming cell phones and using plastic bullets.
A definitive timeline of events is currently unclear, but it appears as though police teargassed a metro station near the park Friday morning.
Ne zaman bu kadar zalim oldunuz? #direngeziparki #occupygezi
Greenpeace Türkiye
@Greenpeace_Med
Ne zaman bu kadar zalim oldunuz? #direngeziparki #occupygezi
POLİS Mİ ŞİMDİ BU ? ADINI SİZ KOYUN @Olympics #occupygezi #direngeziparkı #PoliceViolenceInTurkey
* T.C. * CaNDaNDeNiz
@FBliCandanDeniz
POLİS Mİ ŞİMDİ BU ? ADINI SİZ KOYUN @Olympics #occupygezi #direngeziparkı #PoliceViolenceInTurkey
#taksim #direngeziparki #occupygezi
Umay Ahat
@ahatumay
#taksim #direngeziparki #occupygezi
Government management of public space in Istanbul has been widely criticized in the past.
Kafa tası parçalanan bir genç kız daha #direngeziparkı RT herkes görsün ! @NihatDogan_ND
eren ÅŸahin
@erennsahin
Kafa tası parçalanan bir genç kız daha #direngeziparkı RT herkes görsün ! @NihatDogan_ND
hastaneye saldırılıyor, savaşta bile yapılmaz bu!#direngeziparkı
Sevinç Eratalay
@EratalaySevinc
hastaneye saldırılıyor,
savaşta bile yapılmaz bu!#direngeziparkı
Terrifying footage of the water hoses the police are using on protesters.
