CHP provincial head beaten for ‘being a traitor’

DÜZCE – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

The provincial leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the northern province of Düzce was attacked and beaten on March 26 by two assailants, who were later detained.  

The head of a pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) association, the Ottoman Help and Solidarity Association, shared a video purporting the attack on his Facebook account with a caption “traitor in Düzce.”

The incident occurred at around 2:30 p.m. in Düzce’s Fevzi Çakmak neighborhood when CHP Düzce branch head Zekeriya Tozan’s car was stopped by another car as he was driving to his home. Cengiz D. and Cemal Ü. stepped out of the car and attacked Tozan, saying “you are traitor” before fleeing the scene as Tozan collapsed from the attack.

Cengiz D. and Cemal Ü. were caught soon after Tozan called the police, and the two claimed they had beat Tozan after an argument erupted following a disagreement over which car had the right of way.

Tozan, who lodged a complaint against the two, however claimed that the attack was politically motivated, saying the assailants tried to give the impression there had been an accident but when he asked what is going on, they replied “you are a traitor” and attacked him. 

Meanwhile, İsa Üçüncüoğlu, the head of the Ottoman Grandchildren Help and Solidarity Association, shared a video recorded by a cell phone, purporting the attack on Tozan, on his Facebook account with a caption: “Traitor in Düzce, an agent, we do not want a CHP province head who is a traitor...”

While a probe has been launched into the incident, the Düzce Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement on the attack, saying Üçüncüoğlu along with two other members of the association had been detained and that their testimonies were being taken, as another probe was also launched into Üçüncüoğlu’s Facebook post about the attack.

Selin Sayek Böke, the deputy leader and spokeswoman of the CHP who arrived to Düzce after the incident, vehemently condemned the attack, saying the incident was a turning point for Turkish politics.

“This incident is one of the most tangible examples showing what kind of fascist order Turkey is in,” she said.

“This is not an ordinary incident. This is a political attack. We are not going to hand over the society, the minds and the streets of Turkey to this violence. We will continue our fight until the political rhetoric that causes this violence and the political approach that supports violence change.”