Man detained for assaulting woman in road rage incident

ISTANBUL

A video of a woman who was cut off and attacked on a highway in a busy Istanbul district has gone viral on Turkish social media.

The video shows a man calling out names and damaging the vehicle of a woman in the Alibeyköy neighborhood of the metropolis.

The video also shows the attacker leaving the scene as if nothing had happened after allegedly breaking the window of the woman’s vehicle.

Police detained the attacker, who was identified as Emre Etyemez, after the footage aroused outrage on social media.

Speaking to Demirören News Agency, the woman, Sena Koçak, explained the details of the attack she suffered, complaining about the unresponsiveness of the people around.

There was a verbal spat with the driver of the vehicle in the next lane amid the traffic, Koçak said, adding that the man started swearing at her and that the other women in the vehicle with him also joined the altercation.

Koçak said the man soon exited the vehicle and turned to physically attack her.

The young woman, who said that she was beaten on her head and arm and that her headscarf was snatched away during the attack, received a battery report from the hospital. She also filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office.

“I was vulnerable. Nobody could stop him. There was a crowd of people, but they couldn’t help because the man was wild,” she said.

Complaining that violence against women is on the rise, Koçak said she wanted the attacker to receive the heaviest punishment.

“He could have pulled out a knife. Maybe he could have hurt me more. He might have had the intention to kill. But no [bystander] would look at me. I could hear the screams of the women in the news murdered by men,” she said, referring to victims of femicide in Turkey.

The attacker was brought to an Istanbul court after his interrogation at the police station.