Four detained for firing guns into air on election night in Turkey
ISTANBUL - Demirören News Agency
Four people have been detained for firing guns into the air in Istanbul’s Sultangazi district after polls closed and initial results started to be announced in Turkey’s twin presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24.
Security officials have said an investigation has been launched after video footage showing a number of people firing rifles and guns into the air in the Habipler Square in the Sultangazi district had emerged.
Police units from the Sultangazi district police department examined video footage that circulated widely on social media in order to identify those who fired guns into the air on election night.
Legal procedures were launched for four people for “intentionally endangering public safety.”
The four detainees are expected to be released after they submit their testimonies.
Thousands of people flocked to the streets across Turkey, particularly in Istanbul, to celebrate President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s victory in the presidential race. Erdoğan was re-elected president with 52.6 percent of the votes, but his Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost the majority in parliament after garnering 42.6 percent of the votes.
But the “People’s Alliance,” formed by the AKP and its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) managed to regain the majority, by securing a comfortable majority with 344 seats in parliament—295 seats for the AKP and 49 for the MHP.
