Turkish far-right group attacks writer for selling Demirtaş's books

Duvar English

Turkish ultranationalists have attacked a writer for selling books of jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş in the Black Sea province of Karabük.

The attack occurred at a book fair at the Safranbolu Municipality's Leyla Dizdar Culture Center.

Writer Haldun Açıksözlü shared images of the attack on his Twitter account and wrote: “The vandals turned my stand into this because I sell Selahattin Demirtaş's book.”

In a later post, Açıksözlü wrote that the perpetrators were members of the ultra-nationalist organization Grey Wolves, known as “Ülkü Ocakları” in Turkish.

“The attackers were the vandals of the Karabük Ülkü Ocakları,” Açıksözlü wrote.

The writer also wrote that the perpetrators had lynched him and poured tea on him.

Turkish media reported that the person who initiated the attack was later detained by the police.

Demirtaş has been jailed pending trial since Nov. 4, 2016 on terrorism-related charges.

The Council of Europe has called on Turkish authorities to release Demirtaş and to abide by the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). 

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