Protesters defy warnings by Turkey’s prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and gathered in Istanbul and Ankara on the anniversary of last year’s nationwide anti-government demonstrations.
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Clashes also erupted in the capital Ankara, where police used water cannons against a group of stone-throwing protesters. Adem Altan/AFP Photo -
Large numbers of police blocked access to Taksim Square, with news reports earlier saying authorities planned to deploy some 25,000 police officers and up to 50 anti-riot water cannon vehicles around the city to thwart the demonstrations. Sedat Suna/EPA -
Nationwide protests erupted in late May and June last year when hundreds of thousands of Turks took to the streets denouncing Mr Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic leadership and demanding more democratic freedoms. Opposition to government plans to uproot trees at Taksim Square’s Gezi Park and build a shopping centre sparked the demonstrations. Burhan Ozbilici/AP Photo -
An injured young woman wears a gas mask as she is carried away by a friend. Sedat Suma/EPA -
Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had warned activists to keep away from the square, saying authorities were under strict orders to prevent protests. Tolga Bozoglu/EPA -
In a speech in Istanbul earlier, Mr Erdogan said: “If you go there, our security forces are under strict orders, they will do whatever is necessary from A to Z.” Sedat Suna/EPA -
Despite the ban, hundreds of people tried to reach Taksim. Tolga Bozoglu/EPA -
A man protects a woman as they face a police officer dispersing protesters who gathered on the central Istoklal avenue near Taksim square in Istanbul on May 31, 2014. Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo
In pictures: clashes in Turkey on anniversary of Gezi Park protests
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