Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül attacked by Tatvan Mayor's guards over corruption reporting

Duvar English

Journalist Sinan Aygül on June 17 announced that the bodyguards of Tatvan Mayor Mehmet Emin Geylani attacked him due to his corruption reportings against the municipality located in the eastern Bitlis province.

In a Twitter message, Aygül said “I was attacked by the armed guards of Tatvan Mayor Mehmet Emin Geylani. The guards, after hitting my head from behind, cursed and threatened me by saying, 'If you write about the mayor again, you will die'. I am being taken to Tatvan State Hospital.”

Aygül also shared the moments of the attack and said "While Aygül was coming out of a dentist, police officer Engin Kaplan and other boxer bodyguard Yücel Baysali, who were the bodyguards of Tatvan Mayor Emin Geylani, attacked Aygül from behind. While Yücel Baysali attacked Aygül, Engin Kaplan, prevented the citizens trying to separate the attack with a gun."

The attack came after Aygül wrote about the irregularities and corruption allegations regarding Tatvan Municipality on his social media account on June 15. 

On the other hand, Tatvan Mayor Mehmet Emin Geylani, from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), denied connection with the attack in a tweet. “The incident resulted from a disagreement between individuals, that we do not approve of. I send my best wishes to Sinan Aygül. We have started an administrative investigation regarding the municipality personnel mentioned in the incident,” Geylani said.

Later on, he said one municipality personnel has been suspended from duty. “As soon as I became aware of the incident, I immediately called Sinan Aygül and conveyed my best wishes. We reaffirmed that we will be following the event closely. Again, I condemn this incident. The incident in Tatvan today has deeply saddened us. Our municipality personnel Yücel Baysali has been suspended for the unfortunate event. I personally follow the incident,” he said.

Journalist Gökhan Biçici announced that “Police officer Engin Kaplan, who attacked my dear colleague Sinan Aygül and was the official bodyguard of Tatvan Mayor Mehmet Emin Geylani, has been suspended and a detention order has been issued for him.”

The Bitlis Governor’s Office also announced that a judicial and administrative investigation was launched against the police officer and he was suspended.

Aygül later told Artı Gerçek TV that two people, Baysali and Kaplan, have been detained regarding the attack.

Turkish court arrests journalist under 'disinformation' law for first timeMedia

Journalist Sinan Aygül arrested for ‘insulting’ AKP lawmakerHuman Rights