Demonstrators take to streets of Bern to protest “police brutality”

Around 200 demonstrators took to the streets of the Swiss capital, Bern, on Thursday night to protest against "police brutality" following the death of a Turkish man arrested by police last week.

The 42-year-old man died in hospital three days after being arrested at his home in Bern by officers belonging to an elite police unit.

Demonstrators distributed leaflets in which they expressed their “shock” at the brutality of the police and “fury” at attempts by the authorities to “minimise the affair”.

The man’s death made headlines in Switzerland and led to allegations that police used excessive force when they subdued him in his apartment after a three-hour stand-off.

The preliminary findings of an investigation into the case, published on Wednesday, revealed the man had succumbed to the effects of a cardiac arrest.

Investigators concluded it was “extremely likely” that the man died as a result of the “events” which took place at his home before his arrest.

The investigation refers back to an incident on July 4, when police were called to the man’s home to discover him threatening his wife and three children with a knife.

Investigators have refused to comment on whether the police action had been excessive, saying only that the question was still being examined.

swissinfo with agencies