Turkish police remove followers of Islamist figure from mosques
This content was published on May 3, 2021 - 18:16
May 3, 2021 - 18:16
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish authorities forcibly removed followers of an Islamist figure from three mosques in southern Turkey, saying their prayer gatherings were a provocation against COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
Footage showed police scuffling with a group of people in a mosque in the province of Gaziantep on Sunday and forcibly taking them out, while some yelled: "We are reading the Koran." One officer could be seen using pepper spray.
Turkey has imposed a full lockdown until mid-May to try to cut rates of COVID-19 infection which have soared in recent weeks.