Istanbul police break up protest against attack on Radiohead fans

Turkish police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets late Saturday to disperse hundreds of people protesting after men attacked Radiohead fans for attending an album launch during Ramadan.

A group of about 20 men beat up customers and employees at the Velvet IndieGround music store Friday night, angry that they were drinking alcohol at the event during the Muslim holy month.

About 500 people gathered in Istanbul's central Cihangir neighbourhood Saturday night in response to a call from activists to protest against the attack, an AFP photographer said.

The protesters shouted "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism!" and denounced President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "thief" and a "killer".

The protesters dispersed into side-streets in less than an hour, choking on police tear gas. No one appeared to have been injured in the police operation.

Turkish authorities have regularly cracked down on anti-government demonstrations since mass protests in 2013, using tear gas and water cannon against even small gatherings.

At least two people were injured in Friday's attack at the record store, witnesses told Turkey's Dogan news agency.

The attackers trashed the shop in Istanbul's hip Tophane district, hurled insults and broke up the release party, similar to others held around the world on 17 June, for Radiohead's new album, A Moon Shaped Pool. 

We hope that some day we will be able to look back on such acts of violent intolerance as things of the ancient past - Radiohead

The British rock group condemned the attack, saying: "We hope that some day we will be able to look back on such acts of violent intolerance as things of the ancient past. For now, we can only offer our fans in Istanbul our love and support."

Images filmed during the altercation and widely circulating on social media show the attackers hurling barstools and wrecking the store.

One person is seen bleeding with head injuries after being hit with a bottle.

Rayka Simoni, who was outside the store, told Dogan that the Radiohead fans were "quietly listening to music while sipping beer" when they were attacked.

"Twenty people started throwing bottles at them. One of them kicked my friend for telling them it wasn't right to hit women," she said. 

The Hurriyet newspaper said the music store's owner was a South Korean national who had been living in Turkey for many years. It said many South Koreans were inside at the time of the attack.

Police have opened an investigation into the violence.

Similar attacks have targeted art galleries in the area in the past, with critics claiming Turkey's current government is undermining the country's secular tradition.