Turkey punishes those who photograph the police.

We should not be silent about what the police and the government are doing in Turkey. They are afraid that their matter will be revealed. Therefore, those who portray their ugliness and their dirty behavior will be punished.

General Directorate of Security, Turkish Police on Friday issued a directive banning all audio-visual recordings of citizens at protests.

“These kind of audio-visual recordings prevent them [the police] from fulfilling their duties and must not be permitted; they should prevent those taking recordings of a protest or action,” the directive said.

It said legal action will be taken against any citizens who record the police in any social events.

The police claim that audio-visual recordings of officers while they are fulfilling their duties during social events violate their privacy and reveal their identities.

Rights groups condemned the new directive as blatant censorship.

The Istanbul branch of the Association of Progressive Lawyers, CHD said that it was clearly introduced to guarantee police anonymity ahead of any incidents on May 1, International Labour Day.

“If your personnel are recorded while torturing someone, this could be presented as evidence. Once again, your duty is not to torture, it is a crime!” CHD wrote on Twitter. CHD told citizens that if they see a crime being committed, they can take audiovisual recording as “evidence.”.

Police brutality and torture are major problems in Turkey.