A 23-year-old has filed a criminal complaint against former Turkish interior minister Süleyman Soylu and his security guards on allegations of “insult,” “intentional injury” and “torture” due to the treatment he received during his brief detention last month, the Sözcü daily reported on Monday.
On May 26, as the country was preparing for the May 28 presidential runoff between current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, İsmail İshak Arslan was briefly detained while Soylu was delivering a speech in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district.
The reason for his detention was making a heart shape with his hands directed at Soylu, a signature gesture of Kılıçdaroğlu, the opposition Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate, during his campaign for the presidential election.
Footage showing Arslan being detained, thrown into a black vehicle and subjected to physical assault by Soylu’s security guards on May 26 went viral on social media, causing widespread outrage.
According to Sözcü, Arslan filed a criminal complaint with the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office through his lawyer Onur Cingil and accused Soylu and his security guards of insulting, intentionally injuring and torturing him.
Arslan said in the petition that he struck his head against the top of the car while being forced into it and that he was subjected to violence that caused visible marks on his leg, shoulders and other body parts.
One of Soylu’s two security guards also repeatedly punched Arslan in the head, hurled insults and then left the vehicle as if nothing had happened, according to reports.
The petition stated that Arslan, after being beaten, was released from the vehicle and it was noted that he later obtained a medical report documenting the injuries sustained during the assault.
