This Photo Of A Reporter Being Hit With Pepper Spray Cannon Is Insane

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of protesters in Ankara who were demanding the release of army officers jailed for supposedly plotting a coup.

Hundreds of military officers were controversially jailed in mass trials in 2012 and 2013 for attempting to topple Turkish Prime Minsiter Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

In a stunning disregard for the press, one of the riot police fired a water cannon apparently spiked with pepper spray directly at a television journalist reporting on the scene. Turkey was recently ranked 154th on Reporters Without Borders' annual press freedom rankings and is considering a law to partially censor the Internet.

North Carolina assistant professor Zeynep Tufekci tweeted the images and added commentary:

Meanwhile, images from Ankara. Reporter knocked by water cannon. This, btw, is a sign of govt weakness, not strength. pic.twitter.com/25VAX5PEH2

- Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) February 13, 2014

Hence likely explanation for the red liquid knocking down the reporter is that it's spiked with pepper spray. pic.twitter.com/Xcxe04dQ0E #Turkey

- Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) February 13, 2014

Tufekci recently published a long article that discusses "tear gas and the Internet's role in rebellion and surveillance" in 2012 protests in Gezi park, Istanbul, which also saw aggressive use of tear gas by authorities.

"The Lady in Red" became a symbol of the Istanbul protests. The journalist blasted today is now the subject of an iconic photo of ongoing turmoil in Ankara.