The chairman of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, was attacked in Istanbul. According to the Habertürk TV channel, the attacker is a 66-year-old Turk with three previous convictions.
The attack took place when Özel, accompanied by party members and security guards, was leaving a memorial event at the “Ataturk“ Cultural Center. Suddenly, a man from the crowd jumped up to him from the side and suddenly hit him hard in the forehead with an open palm; the politician did not receive any visible injuries. The attacker was immediately arrested. His identity has been established, but is not being disclosed in the interest of the investigation.
After the attack, Özel received a call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who condemned the incident and assured that all details of what happened would be clarified. The Turkish General Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal case into the incident.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya “strongly condemned the attack on the RNP chairman“. He confirmed that the attacker “with the initials S.T. has been captured and detained“.