Probe launched on attack at İmamoğlu

ANKARA

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said a probe was launched and suspects detained after a group attacked Nation Alliance vice presidential candidate and İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s election bus with stones during his rally in the eastern province of Erzurum on May 7.

“A judicial investigation has been initiated and detention decisions have been made. The process is followed by both our chief prosecutor’s office and the judicial police. There are those who are currently in custody,” Bozdağ said in a televised interview.

Speaking at Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul on his return from Erzurum, İmamoğlu said that the group that attacked him was “instigated.”

A maximum of 300-400 “instigated people” organized the attack, but the police did not interfere with these people, İmamoğlu said.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu refuted İmamoğlu’s claims and said, “He is the one who created the provocation.”

Erzurum Governor Okay Memiş announced that seven people were slightly injured in the stone attack. “Today, Havuzbaşı City Square was not an officially declared rally area. If it had been an official rally area, we could have taken many more security measures and ensured this,” Memiş said.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader and Nation Alliance presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said the aim of the attack was to scare people ahead of the May 14 polls.

“Their aim is to scare people, to keep them away from the ballot box. The majority will end this evil,” Kılıçdaroğlu said on social media.

“Türkiye is the country of the reasonable majority. The majority will end this evil. My dear citizens, focus on May 14 and everything else is a detail. Do not be angry, do not be offended. Love our people, embrace your heart. This is exactly what devastated those terrorist groups,” he said. “Get well soon to my son Ekrem. Bringing change to the country has a price, and we are all willing to pay that.”

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın also said, “This is not acceptable. The governor’s office is working to shed light on the incident.”

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Ömer Çelik also criticized the attack. “In principle, we are against all forms of violence against politics. The most important issue is the freedom of politics. For this reason, any act of violence is rejected by us. Violence against politics and politicians cannot be excused,” he said.