Young women 'beaten by police' at tourist hotspot as they 'tried to report sex assault'
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Two women were "beaten by police" as they tried to report a sexual assault claim.
The young women appear to be helping each other walk along a street, with one seeming to be limping in the popular tourist town of Izmir in Turkey.
But an officer takes a swing at one of the girls, hitting her to the ground while the other woman tries to defend her friend.
The woman in a black dress gets pulled to the floor, behind a car and CCTV appears to show the policeman repeatedly hitting her on the ground.
A crowd of people rush into the street.
(Image: CEN)
(Image: CEN)
They break up the fight between the women and the unnamed policeman.
But he lashes out again, hitting one of the women as another police car arrives, flashing its sirens.
Police have confirmed that they have launched an investigation into the incident.
The policeman in question will face legal action if he is found to be at fault, police confirmed.
Izmir Police Commissioner Huseyin Askin told local media: "As soon as we were informed about the incident, we started an investigation into our staff.
(Image: CEN)
"The police department is an organisation that attaches importance to relations with the people.
"If our staff is at fault, legal sanctions will be implemented. Every aspect of this incident is being investigated.
"The investigation was started right away."
One of the victims said one of the officers reportedly claimed they had invited the harassment by "dressing inappropriately".
She said: "We wanted help from them because we could not see the licence plates of the motorbikes that harassed us.
"But one of the police officers said the harassers were right because we were dressed inappropriately."