Security measures upped after attacks on Turkish political entities
Police teams investigate an attack on the AK Party's election liaison office in Bahçelievler Kocasinan, Istanbul, Türkiye, April 22, 2023. (AA Photo)


All safety precautions have been taken regarding party leaders and presidential candidates for the upcoming elections, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Saturday following armed attacks on several party buildings.

Speaking on CNN Turk, Soylu said that 69 such incidents had happened so far as 22 days are left for the elections.

"This is the work of some organized crime organizations that we have been confronted with recently, and we made approximately 180 detentions in Istanbul last week. A significant number of them were also arrested. There is such a group in Türkiye that is directed from outside.

Soylu’s words came after an armed attack on the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) election liaison office in Istanbul’s Bahçelievler district.

The attack was conducted by unidentified persons on a motorcycle on Friday around 10:15 p.m. No one was injured.

Police that arrived at the scene of the crime are investigating the incident.

"This attack is not only an attack made against the corporate identity of the AK Party. This attack is against Turkish democracy," AK Party Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmuş said on Saturday.

"These are treacherous attacks that will play into the hands of those who want to cast a shadow over the safe and peaceful holding of elections in Türkiye. We condemn them. We hope that whoever is behind it will be brought before justice as soon as possible," he underlined.

"It is obvious that this was an attack. As you know, 14 shots were fired at our Adana Çukurova district building the previous day. The shots fired targeted the signboard and windows, that is, were directly aimed at the party building."

AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chairperson Osman Nuri Kabaktepe strongly condemned the armed attack on his social media account.

"I would like to state that we will pursue the issue before the law. Our greatest consolation is that there were no casualties or injuries in the attack. We will not give these attacks an opportunity to occur again, and we will continue to meet with our fellow citizens in an atmosphere of complete democracy."

AK Party Deputy Chairperson and Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik also condemned the attack.

"We condemn the attempted armed attack in front of our Bahçelievler Kocasinan Liaison Office in Istanbul. We are against harassment, provocation and attacks against the political institution. Our organizations continue their election work with full determination."

A couple of days ago, an unidentified assailant opened fire on AK Party’s Çukurova district headquarters in Türkiye’s southern Adana province. The suspect fired 12 shots at the building using a machine gun. Police arrived at the attack scene briefly and detained the suspect.

While earlier this month, the Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) experienced a similar incident at its Istanbul headquarters where up to seven shots were fired into the air from a car speeding on the highway near the CHP office, which followed another attempt "shooting" at the Istanbul offices of ally Good Party (IP).