Istanbul, Oct 2 () - Two of the four suspects who were detained after a physical assault that injured prominent Turkish journalist Ahmet Hakan have been revealed as members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Four men, arriving in a black Honda at 12:35 a.m. on Oct. 1, attacked the daily Hürriyet columnist in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı neighborhood as he was returning home after hosting his television program on CNNTürk.
Private broadcaster Kanal D reported Oct. 1 that the four men were relatives originally from the eastern province of Van and two of them were registered as members of the AKP in Istanbul's Fatih district.
Uğur Adıyaman, a 29-year-old private security officer, was convicted over drug-, threat- and fraud-related crimes. According to the report, he was registered as a member of the AKP on Oct, 12, 2010.
The second assailant, Fuat Elmas, 29, became a member of the AKP on June 19, 2007, and worked at a private security firm until 2010, the report added.
The third assailant, Kamuran Ergin, 29, had previously faced drug- and armed assault-related charges in the court. He works at a textile company.
The report did not provide any background information about the fourth assailant, identified as Ahmet Güler.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu condemned the attack.
"Whoever uses it for whatever reason, it is not possible to approve of violence. I always condemn violence and disapprove it, particularly when it targets journalists," Davutoğlu said when journalists asked him about the incident in his plane as he was returning from his official visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Attack targeting Hakan was the latest assault against daily Hürriyet and its journalists in the past month.
Hürriyet’s headquarters in Istanbul were attacked by pro-AKP protesters on Sept. 6, while AKP MP Abdurrahim Boynukalın was filmed threatening both Hakan and Hürriyet Editor-in-Chief Sedat Ergin. A second attack followed it in less than 48 hours.
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