Police spray pepper spray at dispersing protesters; Çömez reacts: 'Lawless behavior'

Citizens who took to the streets for May 1st faced police intervention in many locations. IYI Party member Turhan Çömez reacted to a video circulating on social media showing police using excessive force against protesters in some instances.

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources! Don't leave your news to an algorithmYou decide which source to read; add 12punto to your preferred sources.

Police spray pepper spray at dispersing protesters; Çömez reacts: 'Lawless behavior'

Footage showing police unnecessarily spraying pepper spray at dispersing protesters has drawn backlash on social media. One of the figures to react to the video in question was IYI Party MP Turhan Çömez.

Çömez used the following expressions on his social media account:

You would not encounter such scenes in any civilized country.

Against a citizen who was moving in the direction indicated by the police, obeying without showing any resistance, and not causing any disturbance,

The police are spraying pepper spray from a very close range.

Who knows how much pain they were in, and perhaps permanent damage was caused to their eyes.

This lawless and ruthless behavior must certainly be held to account.

Police spray pepper spray at dispersing protesters; Çömez reacts:
Lawless behaviorhttps://t.co/8urljPoNNM pic.twitter.com/kklxIU8hUr
— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) May 1, 2026