Turkey labels swimming goggles worn during protests 'weapons'

A Turkish court has reportedly ruled that swimming goggles and other protective gear worn during this year's mass street demonstrations were 'weapons'.

The demonstrators had equipped themselves with home-made gear such as masks made of plastic bottles, motorbike helmets and goggles to protect themselves from tear gas fired by riot police during protests in June.

However, an Istanbul court has ruled that such items could be classifies as weapons in a case against 23 people who participated in the protest against government plans to build on the city's Gezi park, News24 reports.

The court further ruled that the suspects had the clear intention of invading the park, clashing with police and destroying public property.

The report said that an estimated 2.5 million people took to street demonstrations over three weeks of protests, which left six people dead and 8 000 people injured in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule.