Several businesses connected to Koç Holding, Turkey’s largest conglomerate, including a bank branch and two sites operated by its automotive retail and car rental company, were shot at over the course of two days amid public outrage sparked by remarks by prominent businessman Rahmi Koç that were widely condemned as racist and sexist, according to Turkish media reports.
The backlash followed a video from the June 5 opening of İzmir American Hospital in which Koç, the 95-year-old honorary chairman of Koç Holding, told a joke about a Kurdish woman during a tour of the facility.
In the video Koç is heard recounting a joke in which a doctor listens to a Kurdish woman’s complaint and instructs her to go behind a curtain and undress. According to the joke, the woman responds, “Doctor, you undress first.”
The video showed former prime minister Binali Yıldırım and other guests laughing as Koç completed the joke.
Critics said the joke portrayed a Kurdish woman as unable to understand a doctor’s instructions and used her ethnicity, body and lack of familiarity with a medical setting as the basis for humor.
The controversy was followed by reports that several businesses connected to Koç Holding were shot at.
A Yapı Kredi branch in predominantly Kurdish Diyarbakır’s Sur district and two sites belonging to Otokoç, Koç Holding’s automotive retail and car rental company, in İstanbul and Antalya were targeted over two days.
More than 10 people have been detained in connection with the attacks.
Police have not publicly confirmed a motive for the attacks. Turkish media reports, however, linked the incidents to public anger over Koç’s remarks at the opening ceremony of İzmir American Hospital.
Koç, honorary chairman and board member of Koç Holding, chaired the conglomerate from 1984 until his retirement in 2003.
The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Koç on suspicion of publicly degrading a segment of the population, an offense under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes degrading a group based on social class, race, religion, sect, gender or regional identity.
Koç later apologized in a written statement shared by Koç Holding.
“I sincerely apologize for my words, which were not intended to target any identity,” Koç said. “I would like to sincerely share my sadness.”
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek also criticized Koç’s remarks, saying the judiciary would protect human dignity and the law regardless of wealth, title or status.
“Statements that harm the dignity of women, hurt their honor and conflict with our social sensitivities are unacceptable, regardless of who makes them,” Gürlek said.
Gürlek added that such remarks could not be excused as a joke or humor, saying the government would continue to oppose discriminatory attitudes toward women and any segment of society.
Ömer Çelik, spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), also condemned the remarks, saying no segment of society should be subjected to degrading or discriminatory language based on faith, ethnicity, culture, identity or gender.
“Hate speech can never be justified under the guise of humor,” Çelik said.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party’s (DEM Party) Women’s Assembly said the remarks targeted Kurdish women’s language, identity and bodies under the guise of humor, while Pervin Buldan, one of the party’s most senior figures, called the incident a “disgrace.”
The DEM Party also filed a criminal complaint against Koç with the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Koç, 95, also chairs the Vehbi Koç Foundation American Hospital.
Koç Holding is Turkey’s largest corporate group by combined revenue, exports, employment and market share on Borsa İstanbul, according to the company. Founded in 1926, the group operates in sectors including energy, automotive, consumer durables and finance.