Youth sues ex-minister Soylu and guards for violent detention over Kılıçdaroğlu’s heart-shaped gesture
A 23-year-old youth has sued former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and his security guards for violently detaining and battering him after making Kılıçdaroğlu’s heart-shaped hand gesture.
Duvar English
A Turkish youth has filed a criminal complaint against former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and his security guards over his violent detention for making main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s heart-shaped hand gesture in May.
The 23-year-old İsmail İshak Arslan made a heart shape during Soylu’s visit to Istanbul’s Üsküdar district on May 26. The heart shape was an emblem of the election campaign of the opposition Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate Kılıçdaroğlu. After this move, Soylu’s security guards detained Arslan, battered him and got him forcefully into a black vehicle. Afterwards, the youth got a battery report from the hospital.
Arslan submitted a petition to Istanbul’s Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, demanding that Soylu and his security guards stand trial over “insult,” “deliberate injury” and “torture,” according to reporting by the daily Sözcü.
The petition said although Soylu during his Üsküdar rally deemed 25 million Kılıçdaroğlu voters “terrorists" and "nonbelievers” and accused them of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gülenist network, Arslan merely made a heart shape and did not say anything ill-intentioned.
The petition read that people believed to be Soylu’s security guard held Arslan by the back of his neck, swore at him and violently got him into a civilian car. It said that such violence left marks on various parts of Arslan’s body and the youth’s head was pushed several times to the car’s top.