Turkish court arrests man for 'insulting' mafia leader Alaattin Çakıcı

A Turkish court has arrested a man for "insulting" mafia leader Alaattin Çakıcı on social media. The man is accused of "inciting the public to hatred and enmity."

Monday November 30 2020 01:35 pm

Duvar English

A Turkish court has arrested a man for "insulting" mafia leader Alaattin Çakıcı, a close friend of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli.

Police raided Hakim Ekelik's house in the Aegean province of Aydın early on Nov. 28 and detained him. He was arrested on accusations of "inciting the public to hatred and enmity" in a social media post, Gazete RED reported.

His arrest comes after Çakıcı threatened main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu more than once.

Bahçeli, a staunch ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, defended his mafia leader friend's threats against Kılıçdaroğlu.

While government officials said that an investigation was launched into the incident, no swift action was taken against Çakıcı in contrast to that taken against Ekelik.

Ekelik's relatives said that members of the Ülkücü movement, a group of ultra-nationalist Turks, were attempting to harass the family.