The Gezi Park Protests started on May 28th with a sit-in by a small group of environmentalists contesting the demolition of a park in the center of Istanbul's Taksim Square. In three raids over the course of several days, the police attempted to remove the group occupying the park only to see the protests grow and spiral into wider clashes. Outrage at images of police brutality against the protesters and resentment against the rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdošan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) triggered huge demonstrations across the country. Heavy clashes between protesters and police reached their peak between the morning of May 31st and the afternoon of June 1st, when riot police withdrew. As the police retreated, thousands filled Taksim Square and Gezi Park. For 14 days, demonstrators camped in and around the park and the square, blocking the immediate re-entry of police forces by with extensive makeshift barricades and a system of lookouts.