Three people who attacked the Workers’ Party of Turkey’s (TİP’s) MP and deputy president, Barış Atay, were arrested on 2 September, after they finished their interviews with the authorities.

‘Ö.C.’, ‘Ç.Ç.’ and ‘Ç.B’ were detained over the physical assault. The suspects were identified through camera recordings in Kadıköy district of Istanbul. They claimed that they did not know that Atay was a deputy in parliament and they argued with him over the right of way. Efforts to trace the fourth suspect continue.

What happened?

TİP deputy, Barış Atay, was attacked early on 31 August in Kadıköy by ‘unidentified assailants’ following the Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu’s comments targeting him.

Barış Atay had criticized the minister over the release of specialized sergeant Musa Orhan, who faces charges of raping a Kurdish woman. Atay accused Soylu of protecting the rapist. In response, Soylu stated that he did not protect rapists. He then asserted that Atay was a rapist.

Shortly after Soylu’s tweet on the matter, Atay was attacked by four people in Kadıköy. Atay is recovering from his injuries.