AKP official stages assault by opposition with 'football-style' diving, yelling

Following a road construction dispute between AKP and CHP-led municipalities, İzmit Municipal Council's member from the ruling AKP, İbrahim Efe, put on a dramatic performance.

Friday April 26 2024 10:27 am

Duvar English

İbrahim Efe, a member of the İzmit Municipal Council in Turkey's western province of Kocaeli, representing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) showcased a dramatic performance in front of İzmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Video footage released on April 25 shows Efe dramatically throwing himself to the ground, rolling, screaming, and yelling that he is under attack while calling for police assistance when obstructed from approaching Hürriyet.

“AKP council member İbrahim Efe throws himself to the ground following a touch, tripping people over while he is on the ground. Then he creates shows by saying, ‘They are attacking me.’ This is the point we have reached,” İzmit Mayor Hürriyet said following the event.

The incident unfolded against tensions between the İzmit Municipality, controlled by the CHP, and the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, won by the AKP in the March 31 local elections.

The İzmit municipality had been engaged in asphalt preparation works on a road intended to connect a part of the municipality to the Kocaeli City Hospital.

However, the works were obstructed by the AKP’s Kocaeli delegation, which reportedly blocked the pathway with construction equipment.

When İzmit Municipality personnel attempted to enter the road, they were met with physical violence, according to Hürriyet.

“I will hold those to account who attacked my public works director and our employees. We will use all legal means,” the İzmit Mayor said.

Speaking to the daily Birgün, Mehmet Nazım Gençtürk, İzmit Municipality’s CHP Chair, stated that the incident is part of a broader pattern of aggression following the termination of agreements with the AKP-linked Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) and Ensar Foundation.

Earlier this month, the İzmit Municipality revoked a protocol regarding a student dormitory, which had been handed out to TÜGVA for the past 25 years. Similarly, an agreement allocating a youth center to the Ensar Foundation was also canceled.

(English version by Wouter Massink)