Turkey commemorates police officer killed in PKK attack

İZMİR

Turkey commemorated police officer Fethi Sekin on the first anniversary of his death on Jan. 5.

Sekin was killed in an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack after he intercepted a vehicle carrying explosives, sacrificing himself in order to prevent more killings in the western province of İzmir.

The attack occurred just outside İzmir’s main courthouse on Jan. 5, 2017, after Sekin, 43, stopped a suspicious vehicle that turned out to be carrying explosives.

An armed clash subsequently took place between the militants and nearby security forces. Sekin then threw himself onto another vehicle in order to deflect another attack, which left himself and court official Musa Can dead and five others injured.

A commemoration ceremony, attended by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor Mustafa Doğru, was held at the İzmir courthouse on the first anniversary of the attack.

Speaking at the ceremony, Soylu and Gül conveyed their condolences to the families and friends of Sekin and Can over their loss, while Doğru said the PKK militants attempted to carry out a big massacre.

“Our security forces, particularly Fethi Sekin, gave the necessary reply to those betrayers. The target of terror was our unity and brotherhood,” he added.

After the ceremony a statue in memory of Sekin was unveiled.