Investigation opened into police intervention on irregular migrant in Istanbul

By Zeynep Rakipoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - An internal investigation has been launched after a video went viral showing police intervention against a Senegalese national in Istanbul, security sources said.

Two police officers only identified with their initials M.Y. and O.F.S. stopped 35-year-old Senegalese national M.P. on Istanbul’s teeming Vatan Street, said the sources, who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The police officers work at a police station in Istanbul’s historic Fatih District.

They were assigned as part of an implementation carried out against irregular migrants in the city, the sources added.

According to the sources, M.P. resisted after police officers found that his residence permit had expired.

Social media was abuzz with footage capturing the police intervention against M.P., who was reported to have attempted to flee, as he resisted their efforts.

M.P. was released after an examination of his case that his visa had expired, but his extension applications were still pending.