Prosecutor seeks up to 27 years in jail for fugitive ‘man with machete’

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

A public prosecutor has demanded up to 27 years in prison for the “man with a machete” who attacked Gezi Park protesters in Istanbul’s city center in early July. DHA photo

A public prosecutor has demanded up to 27 years in prison for the “man with a machete” who attacked Gezi Park protesters in Istanbul’s city center in early July.

Footage of Sabri Çelebi, who was identified as a local business owner in Taksim Square, emerged on the web when he was seen kicking a woman in the back while holding a machete, hours after police staged a heavy-handed attack on Gezi protesters around Taksim Square on July 6.

Çelebi was eventually detained despite initial police inaction, but judicial authorities were heavily criticized for releasing him pending trial on the grounds that he was not a flight risk. Çelebi, however, soon boarded a flight for Morocco, where is still thought to be.