Turkish court releases Islamist man who threatened political opponents with 'beheading'

A Turkish court has released İsmail Cevher Kasımoğlu, who threatened the opposition figures in a street interview in Batman province by saying “we will behead them.” In the street interview, he stated that he is affiliated with Hizbullah, a militant Islamist organization.

Friday March 31 2023 04:15 pm

Duvar English

A Turkish court released İsmail Cevher Kasımoğlu, who threatened the opposition figures in a street interview in the southeastern province of Batman by saying “we will behead them.”

During a street interview about the upcoming elections, Kasımoğlu was handed a microphone and asked whether he opts for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu or Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. After answering Erdoğan to the question, he hurled insults and swear words and made death threats against opposition politicians.

İsmail Cevher Kasımoğlu, who also introduced himself as affiliated with Turkish Hizbollah, a radical Islamist terrorist organization, was detained on March 30 on the charge of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" as part of an investigation launched by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Kasımoğlu said that he regretted his statement and he used those words because someone who spoke before him in the interview criticized the state and he was angry about it, Demirören News Agency reported on March 31. Kasımoğlu was released by the court under judicial control measures.

On March 31, main opposition bloc Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's lawyer stated that they will take all the necessary actions to be assured that Kasımoğlu will be punished to the fullest extent.