Turkey Protests: Government Targets Doctors Who Treated Injured Demonstrators

Doctors who treated protesters wounded in clashes with riot police in Turkey are to be investigated by the government in a move likely to inflame tensions further.

The Health Ministry had demanded a list of the names of all doctors who treated demonstrators from the Turkish Medical Association (TBB), the association said on Friday 14 June.

The TBB estimates that 7,500 people have been injured in the unrest, the overwhelming number suffering from teargas exposure.

The association said it was ordered to "immediately" give up the names of medical workers and their patients, but had vowed not to co-operate.

"We were notified that an investigation has been launched into the improvised clinics that treated the protesters," said Osman Öztürk of the TBB.

The authorities also signalled they would take steps to close down media outlets that broadcast images of demonstrations last week.

Turkey's state television regulator shut down one channel that offered continuous live coverage of the protests. Hayat TV went off air "for broadcasting from abroad without a licence", the Radio and Television Supreme Council said.

On Tuesday, the regulator fined Hayat TV and three stations that ran extensive coverage of the protests for "encouraging people to violence".

On Friday night, the BBC suspended its partnership with NTV after the private channel refused to air the Turkish version of the World Agenda programme.

However, the government was forced to back down on plans to redevelop Gezi park in Istanbul, which sparked the protests last month. Police were criticised for the heavy-handedness of their response to the initial protests.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, agreed to abide by a court decision on his plan to uproot Gezi Park. He said he would hold a referendum if the court rules in favour of it.

"If judiciary in the end allows the project we'll still apply the public vote," he said. "It won't be a military barracks but a city museum - 80% of trees will be within the city museum, the rest will be planted around the complex."

Taksim Solidarity, one group representing the protesters, hailed the move as "positive".

The government also turned its sights on Twitter, demanding the company set up a local division as "they receive advertising revenue without paying a penny in tax".

Police have arrested a number of people who are accused of stirring up protests by posting messages on the site, including information on the position of police lines.