Doğan Group refutes ‘irrational’ accusations

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Doğan Group has said Star media outlet chair Murat Sancak’s accusations that the Doğan Group was also behind a recent armed attack targeting him were "irrational and pathetic."

In a statement by Doğan Group Vice President Responsible for Corporate Relations Ahter Kutadgu, the group said Sancak voiced his accusations two months after the incident and after various reports were published about the incident.

“We consider commenting on this irrational, remorseless and pathetic statement that mocks the average human intellect as a waste of time and do not take it seriously,” read the statement.

“We hand over Murat Sancak to Allah, but first to the supreme Turkish judiciary, and leave him alone with his own conflicts and dilemmas,” it added.

Sancak was caught in crossfire on Aug. 20 along with his bodyguard and driver in Istanbul’s Hadımköy district at around 12:00 p.m. According to the police investigation, a total of 21 bullets hit their car, but Sancak and his bodyguards managed to survive the attack and no casualties were reported.

One of the six suspects transferred to court in the case was arrested on Oct. 16 on charges of “attempted voluntary manslaughter.”

Although the Star media outlet initially portrayed the incident as a “terrorist attack to silence the media,” the suspects in the case have been found out to be members of a criminal gang and had no links to any terrorist group.