Özgür Özel, the main opposition leader in Turkey, was slapped in the face on Sunday while attending the funeral of a pro-Kurdish politician in Istanbul, highlighting the country’s ongoing political tensions.
A video circulating online shows the 50-year-old Özel recoiling after being struck forcefully on the forehead, before being escorted to safety by bodyguards. A grey-haired man, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, was subdued by Özel’s aides and later arrested by the police.
Authorities reported that the 66-year-old assailant, identified only by the initials S.T., had previously served a prison sentence for the 2004 murders of two of his children. The motive behind Sunday’s attack is unclear, though the attacker claimed he acted alone and lost his temper upon seeing Özel, according to the Turkish TV channel A Haber.
Özel accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of imprisoning Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, from the main secular opposition party CHP, to eliminate a potential future presidential candidate.
The assault occurred after Özel attended the funeral of the pro-Kurdish MP Sirri Süreyya Onder, a key figure in an emerging peace process aimed at ending conflict with separatist Kurdish militants.
“Today was meant to be a day for discussing peace, ending terrorism and human rights violations, and the liberation of all political prisoners through democratic initiatives,” Özel stated following the attack. “Certain individuals did not want these topics discussed and facilitated this attack.”
President Erdogan extended his condolences to Özel after the incident, which happened just a day after the CHP leader sought to garner support from voters in the central Anatolian city of Konya, a stronghold of the president.
