It has been a long hard night in Istanbul and we still know little about the exact scale of the protests (though, by all accounts, they were massive) or the exact extent of police abuses (though there is little question that they are widespread).  Large sections of the city were filled with protestors.  Large sections were clouds of tear gas.

For those of us observing from abroad, it is vital that we take steps to address on-going police abuses. International attention and international pressure are one of the primary checks on police abuse.

Turkish Police continues to attack the protestors who resist against the demolition of Gezi Park. According to Istanbul Chamber of Doctors explanation there are approximately 100 injured people. © Nar Photos/ Adnan Onur Acar Used by Permission.

Join in one of the many international protests, such as that being staged in New York City on Saturday, which are calling attention to the violent suppression of free expression in Turkey. Share your concern on social media sites like facebook and twitter.  Write to Turkish embassies in your home country so that the Turkish government knows that these abuses will not go unnoticed.  The time is now.

For information on how to take action, see this blog post.  A list of Turkish embassies outside of the United States may be found here: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkish-representations.en.mfa