Police officer dies trying to prevent attack on HDP building in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A police officer has died after trying to prevent an attack on the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in the Ümraniye district of Istanbul. 

The police officer, Numan Şeref Datlı, went to the roof of the six-story building after he observed someone, only to step on a broken surface, causing him to fall off the building, Doğan News Agency has reported. The person in question was apprehended and an investigation into the case is ongoing.

Datlı was hospitalized with heavy injuries, but later succumbed to his wounds. 

He is survived by his wife and three children. His funeral is scheduled to be held in Istanbul. 

The HDP released a statement expressing their condolences over his death. 

“We offer our condolences to the family of the police officer who died while trying to prevent attackers in Ümraniye,” HDP spokesperson Ayhan Bilgen said on his Twitter account late on Dec. 18.

Arson attacks on a number of HDP buildings and headquarters came after a bomb on Dec. 17 in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri killed 14 police officers and twin bombings hit Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district on Dec. 10 killed at least 44 people. Both bombings were blamed on an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK). 

Because it focuses on the Kurdish issue, the HDP has come under attack since the militant assaults.

Meanwhile, HDP Iğdır deputy Mehmet Emin Adıyaman was detained in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on charges of making terrorist propaganda on behalf of the PKK. He was released after giving testimony, in which he refused all the charges, daily Habertürk reported. 

In another incident, a Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) building in the Aegean province of Uşak was attacked with rifles. A car, whose license plate is still undetermined, opened fire on the building. No casualties were reported in the attack.   

The attack caused damage to the building, while police took security precautions in the area. An investigation has been launched into the case.