CNN crew 'detained' by riot police in Taksim Square

Turkish riot police had allegedly detain CNN’s İstanbul correspondent Ivan Watson and his crew in the middle of a live report in Taksim Square on the first anniversary of Gezi protests.

“Turkish police detained me and my crew in the middle of a live report in Taksim Square. One officer kneed me in the butt,” Watson said in his tweet. However, there were reports that the CNN crew were not formally detained but prevented from going on air.

The İstanbul Police Department released a statement regarding the incident, stating that Watson did not have his passport with him and he there were no procedures taken after he went to collected and declared his passport to the police officers.

Turkish police crack down on protesters on Gezi anniversary

Police used tear gas and water cannon on Saturday to push back crowds of protesters who defied a warning by Turkey's prime minister and gathered in İstanbul and Ankara on the anniversary of last year's nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Riot police fired tear gas on hundreds of protesters on a main pedestrian street leading to İstanbul's main square, Taksim, following a stand-off with police. Clashes also erupted in the capital Ankara, where police used water cannons against a group of stone-throwing protesters.