‘Soldiers treated me well,’ says ousted Mardin mayor Türk about controversial photo

MARDİN

The ousted mayor of the southeastern province of Mardin, Ahmet Türk, who was released from prison on Feb. 3, has said he was treated well by the soldiers escorting him to a hospital in the eastern province of Elazığ. 

Türk’s statement came after a photo of him being taken to hospital stirred debate, with many people criticizing his handcuffing despite the fact he suffers from severe health problems. 

“They took me to court and hospital. The soldiers treated me very kindly when we were going to the hospital. I wasn’t handcuffed there. Two gendarmerie officers held my arms because the ground was icy and I was looking at the ground. That’s why a photo like that emerged,” Türk told Doğan News Agency, adding that he was not subject to any coercive attitude. 

“We need to speak honestly. They treated me humanely. The team who brought me to the hospital were only doing their job. I didn’t have any complaints. When we went to the forensics medicine institute no one took me by the arm. I was even joking with them,” he said. 

Türk was ousted on Nov. 17, 2016, and was arrested over a terror investigation on Nov. 24, 2016. 

After being arrested, Türk was held in Silivri Prison until being transferred to Elazığ. A number of political figures, including the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, have called for him to be tried without arrest.