Turkish police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of
demonstrators protesting an attack the previous night targeting an event
for Radiohead fans.
Skirmishes between police and demonstrators broke out Saturday near a
record store that hosted the Radiohead event Friday night that ended in
violence.
The violence, condemned by the band, erupted Friday about 9 p.m. local
time as about 20 unidentified men stormed the Turkish record store
Velvet Indieground and attacked the store owner and several attendees,
according to local news and social media reports.
“They were determined to kill us. we were beaten by more than 20 men
with pipes in their hands, beer bottles were broken on our heads, i
don't even know how we made it out,” a man claiming to be one of the
event’s hosts wrote on Reddit.
A Periscope livestream captured parts of the fracas as the angry men
strode in, ushered customers out of the room and could be heard yelling
and loudly breaking things off camera.
Reddit user Rawkon, who wrangled the Periscope footage into a
four-minute YouTube video, suggested the assailants had been angry over
the event’s attendees indulging in alcohol during Ramadan, a holy month
observed by Muslims.
No one was seriously injured, according to reports, but a dramatic
photo posted by Twitter user @emancipatedcity showed a man with his
shirt, hand and thigh drenched in blood.
“Here’s one of your fans got beaten by the fascists. This is just happened an hour ago,” the user wrote.
The English experimental rockers showed solidarity with their fans in a statement released late Friday.
“Our hearts go out to those attacked tonight at Velvet IndieGround in Istanbul,” the Thom Yorke-fronted group said.
“We hope that someday we will be able to look back on such acts of
violent intolerance as things of the ancient past. For now, we can only
offer our fans in Istanbul our love and support.”
The self-identified listening party host later returned to Reddit to declare that attendees appeared to be “fine.”
“For the first time in my life, i was scared of being killed. can't
even think right now, just a blank stare at the walls,” he wrote before
referencing a track off Radiohead’s 2007 album “In Rainbows.’”
“Weird fishes is my favourite song in the world, and i was dancing to
it outside when it all started,” he wrote. “Now it has so much more
meaning for me.”
With News Wire Services
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