Attack on HDP’s Election Booth in Büyükada: 2 People Wounded

* Photographs: Nadire Mater

Click to read the article in Turkish

An attack was carried out against the election booth of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the island of Büyükada, İstanbul around 1 a.m. on June 17. The attackers attempted to burn the booth and flags of the party.

The main opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) members from the neighboring election booth and the shop owners in the vicinity tried to stop the attackers. Sedat Şahin, a shop owner, and Vedat Demir, a member of the CHP Youth Organization, who were trying to stop the attackers, were stabbed. Four of around 10 attackers, who were reported to be in their twenties, were detained after the incident.

One of the attackers was arrested today (June 18).

While one of the injured, Sedat Şahin, was discharged from the hospital, the treatment of the 28-year-old Vedat Demir is still continuing in the intensive care unit of the Kartal Training and Research Hospital in İstanbul.

The HDP member Neşe Erdilek spoke to bianet about the incident and said, "Similar attacks have been made before. They come and destroy our booths. They come there late at night and destroy the booths." Erdilek also added,

"The stabbers have escaped"

"One person was stabbed for five times and one person for one time. In the meantime, another group also came and tease the HDP booth. 

"We called an ambulance; it came one hour later.

"The wounded were taken to Kartal, one of them has been discharged from the hospital, but the other one is still there. We have been informed that four people have been apprehended in relation with this incident. But the ones who carried out the knife attack are not among the detained.

"Some inhabitants of the island [Büyükada] heard that a group of youngsters came to the island and talked about this attack by mentioning that they had received an instruction. There are people coming to the island right now, especially to attack the HDP.

"The security [forces] can be said to protect them. Because the people who tried to stop the attackers were also threatened with being arrested."

Atmaca from the CHP: The police also battered

A member of the CHP Youth Organization Bülent Atmaca, who was working at the neighboring booth when the attack happened, also spoke to bianet about the incident. Atmaca said,

"Last night, we saw that a group of people started to take down and burn the flags of the HDP. There were almost 20 of them.

"We were about to prevent them from burning the flags, but there were stabbings. They [the attacked people] were then battered by the police as well. The police also insulted them.

"Some of the attackers were sitting under the tent of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which also has an election booth in the vicinity. We think that it was done deliberately." (PT/SD)