Özgür Özel, leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was struck by a bystander while exiting an event on Sunday (May 4) in Istanbul.

Özel had been attending an event at Istanbul’s Atatürk Cultural Center commemorating parliamentary representative Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who had passed away on Saturday.

The attacker was identified as Selçuk Tengioğlu, a 66-year-old with a criminal record including the 2004 murder of two of his children. Tengioğlu had been released from prison on parole in 2020.

Security at Sunday’s event quickly subdued and arrested the suspect immediately after the attack.

Statements condemning the attacker were released Sunday by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other politicians.

In a statement following his Sunday arrest, Tengioğlu said:

“I had previously........

© Medyascope