Machete-wielding attacker of Gezi protesters arrested in Istanbul over threat to Libyan businessman

ISTANBUL

A man who first hit headlines for attacking anti-government Gezi protesters in Istanbul in 2013 with a machete has been arrested for threatening a Libyan businessman, daily Habertürk has reported.

Police also arrested two other suspects along with Sabri Çelebi on the same charges on March 3. 

The unnamed Libyan businessman had appealed to prosecutors, claiming that Çelebi threatened him last week. 

“After we met he said he wanted a luxury car from Dubai. So I imported a Lincoln car from Dubai. We agreed on $110,000 as a price but he did not give the money. He took the car and started to threaten me,” he said in his complaint.

Processing the complaint, police demanded testimonies from both complainant and suspects, also revealing that Çelebi was known as “the man who attacked people with a machete in the Gezi protests.”

Police detained Çelebi and other two suspects, while the Lincoln car referred to in the businessman’s application was also seized by police. 

All three suspects reportedly deny the accusations, but the court in Istanbul ordered their arrest.

Back in August 2013, Çelebi had been arrested for chasing and kicking Gezi protesters wielding a machete near Istanbul’s Taksim Square on July 6, 2013. That case is still ongoing, with the prosecutor’s indictment demanding up to 27 years in prison for the assault.