EU envoy to Turkey visits HDP's İzmir office following attack

Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, the head of the EU delegation to Turkey, and an accompanying delegation on June 21 visited the HDP's İzmir office, offering their condolences over the death of a party member during last week's attack. “We are here to condemn the horrendous attack against the HDP,” Meyer-Landrut said.

Monday June 21 2021 06:17 pm

Duvar English

Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, the head of the EU delegation to Turkey, on June 21 paid a visit to the local office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the Agean province of İzmir and expressed his condolences following last week's attack.

Meyer-Landrut was accompanied by EU Press Officer Miray Akdağ, section head in EU Delegation to Turkey, Alexander Fricke, project manager in EU Delegation to Turkey, Lisa Westling, and translator Yeşim Boyalar.

The EU officials held a meeting with HDP İzmir lawmaker Murat Çepni and HDP İzmir co-chairs Kadir Baydur and Besriye Tekgür as well as the party's provincial executives.

Afterwards a press meeting was held during which Meyer-Landrut condemned the attack and expressed his condolences over the death of party member Deniz Poyraz.

“I’m here to condemn the terrible attack on the HDP headquarters here in İzmir last week. I’m here to pay my respect to the victim and her family and to convey in person my condolences to the local HDP leadership,” Meyer-Landrut said.

He also left carnations at the exact place where Poyraz was shot and observed a moment of silence.

“I’m here to condemn the terrible attack on the HDP headquarter here in İzmir last week. I’m here to pay my respect to the victim and her family and to convey in person my condolences to the local HDP leadership” pic.twitter.com/4nVH3FAEzr
— AB Türkiye Delegasyonu 🇪🇺 EU Delegation Turkey (@EUDelegationTur) June 21, 2021

Tekgür thanked Meyer-Landrut for his solidarity and said that the attack not only targeted the HDP but also democracy. Tekgür called on all government officials to be more careful in their discourses.

A man on June 17 stormed the HDP's İzmir office and shot dead 20-year-old Poyraz, prompting the party to blame a public government crackdown on it which has intensified this year.

The HDP said Poyraz had been covering a shift for her mother at the office.

Turkey's third-largest party, the HDP has come under renewed pressure in recent months with the nationalist allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) calling for it to be banned.

Topics Turkey EU Delegation to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut HDP İzmir attack