Turkey police arrest ruling party member\, five others after attack on opposition chief

Turkey police arrest ruling party member, five others after attack on opposition chief

AFP  |  Istanbul 

on Monday arrested six people, including a member of the ruling AKP party, after an attack on Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and party officials said.

The attack came days after the opposition CHP won and from Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP in March 31 local elections in a stinging blow to the ruling party.

A video from Sunday's attack went viral and sparked outrage on social media, with the hashtag #KilicdarogluYalnizDegildir ("is not alone") becoming a trending topic.

The suspect, identified only by his initials O.S., was arrested in Sivrihisar in central Anatolia and was being taken to Cubuk, private NTV television reported.

The AKP later identified him as and said he was a party member who would face a disciplinary hearing for expulsion.

"AKP is against any form of violence. Our principles certainly reject violence. There is no room for violence in democratic politics," said on

Five other detainees were already testifying at the police station in Cubuk, state-run agency reported.

After the attack, the CHP was taken to a nearby house for security reasons and then taken away in an armoured vehicle, reported.

Kilicdaroglu, who spoke to supporters after the incident, said the attack targeted Turkey's unity.

"The assailants have no respect for the martyr (dead soldier)," he said. "They are not genuine Muslims." During campaigning for the local polls, Erdogan often accused and the CHP of backing the outlawed (PKK) and showed videos of the at his rallies.

Electoral authorities have given the CHP candidates their mandates for the and posts, but Erdogan's AKP is seeking a re-run of the vote, citing irregularities.

CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu won the race by a very tight margin after two weeks of recounts.

The CHP held responsible for "provocation" after he said last year he had ordered governors not to allow CHP members to join soldiers' funerals.

The CHP's provincial heads in 81 cities plan a simultaneous statement about the "heinous attack" targeting Kilicdaroglu, the party said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, April 22 2019. 14:20 IST