Turkish Man Breaking Up Fight Killed by Police Spray, Sabah Says
A Turkish man was killed by police pepper spray as he sought to break up a fight between two groups, Sabah reported.
Cayan Birben told policemen that he has asthma and warned them against using pepper spray to halt the clash, according to the Istanbul-based newspaper, which cited witnesses to the incident. The 31-year-old man rushed to a nearby cafe to wash his face after police pepper-sprayed the crowd, and then was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Yalova, Sabah reported. Birben died in intensive care, the newspaper said.
Turkish police frequently resort to pepper spray to disperse demonstrators and suppress unrest. Last year, a retired teacher protesting against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan before an election rally had a heart attack after police pepper- sprayed demonstrators.
To contact the reporter on this story: Emre Peker in Ankara at epeker2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
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