A man who stabbed a volunteer at an opposition campaign booth in the northern city of Trabzon has been arrested and jailed, Turkish media reported on Friday.
The assailant, identified as Bilal Gökalp, was taken into custody on Thursday after attacking a booth set up by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) as part of its campaign calling for the release of jailed İstanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and early elections.
The incident occurred on Trabzon’s central Kahramanmaraş Street, where the CHP’s youth wing had been collecting signatures in support of the imprisoned opposition leader.
Gökalp reportedly charged the booth and stabbed party member Fikret Ayartepe.
After undergoing medical checks, Gökalp was referred to the Trabzon Courthouse on Friday and appeared before the 2nd Criminal Court of Peace, which formally put him under arrest and in pretrial detention.
Ayartepe’s condition was not immediately clear, and no other injuries were reported.
The CHP said the stand was part of a nationwide effort to rally public support behind İmamoğlu, whose March 19 detention on corruption allegations and subsequent arrest triggered mass protests and condemnation from rights groups and foreign governments.
İmamoğlu, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest rival, was jailed after being named the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
His detention has led to nationwide protests and boycotts, including a “no-buy day” on April 2 called by CHP leader Özgür Özel in protest of police crackdowns on student demonstrators.
CHP Trabzon provincial chair Mustafa Bak told reporters outside the courthouse that the attack was a “heinous” assault on the party’s peaceful democratic efforts.
Bak welcomed the suspect’s arrest but said it did not fully satisfy the party’s sense of justice.
He called the ruling “an important step to deter future attacks” against political expression and civic activism.
The incident comes amid heightened political tensions in Turkey, where authorities have detained more than 2,000 people over the past two weeks in connection with the protest movement.