One person killed in attack on Kurdish opposition building in Turkey

“The government will be responsible for any negative consequences,” the HDP said

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2021/06/17 15:01

The HDP building in Izmir (Photo: social media)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – One person was killed in an attack on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Izmir in Turkey.

The HDP said an assailant with a shotgun attacked the HDP office in İzmir Thursday morning. The perpetrator wanted to take the HDP member hostage and attempted to torch the bulding.

Our friend, Deniz Poyraz, was murdered in the attack on our İzmir district building. The instigator and abettor of this brutal attack is the AKP-MHP government and the Ministry of Interior which constantly targets our party and our members. #HDPhalktır pic.twitter.com/LewsXGu0rB
— HDP English (@HDPenglish) June 17, 2021

“Our friend, Deniz Poyraz, was murdered in the attack on our İzmir district building,” the party tweeted.

The Izmir governor's office in a statement said a former health worker it only identified by the initials O.G. attacked the HDP office at 11:00 AM. The suspect was later confirmed to be Onur Gencer.

“He was caught and the incident is being investigated in all its aspects,” the authorities said.

The HDP blamed the government alliance between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) party.

“The instigator and abettor of this brutal attack is the AKP-MHP government and the Ministry of Interior which constantly targets our party and our members."

“The government will be responsible for any negative consequences,” the HDP said.

The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having close ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an allegation it has used to justify its crackdown on Kurdish politicians.

The HDP denies links to the PKK, which has been fighting a decades-long insurgency against Ankara over Kurdish rights in Turkey.

A government crackdown on the HDP gained pace in the aftermath of the attempted July 2016 military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara’s response has seen over seven thousand people jailed, including the HDP party's co-leader Selahattin Demirtas and 11 other lawmakers.

Demirtas remains jailed despite two European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings in favor of his release.