Erzurum’s police, in eastern Turkey, arrested 15 people after a group of people threw stones at an opposition campaign bus. During the provocation, the candidate for vice president from the main opposition bloc of the National Alliance, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is also the mayor of Istanbul, spoke at an impromptu rally from the roof of the bus.
Teams from the Erzurum Provincial Police Department reviewed the camera footage of the attack and identified 19 suspects. Police detained 15 people as investigations continue into the capture of the other four people, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Accordingly, the identification of the participants in the attack continues.
However, a Turkish court released 14 people shortly after being detained under judicial review measures, one of whom was released immediately after testifying.
Meanwhile, 17 people who were wounded with daggers in the attack have been discharged from hospitals.
A group of ultranationalists threw stones at the election bus of Istanbul’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayor and vice presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu as he addressed citizens during a rally in the eastern province of Erzurum on May 7.
Istanbul’s mayor said after the incident that he was fine but would file criminal complaints against the governor and security forces for failing to prevent the attack. The opposition complained that the police officers who were nearby watched the attack indifferently.
Leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Istanbul’s mayor of instigating the attack on himself.
Photo: Ekrem Imamoglu / Credit to The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
