Kaan Şengil, a deputy from the right-wing Grand Unity Party (BBP), publicly targeted Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu for criticizing the police in handling a murder suspect.
Gergerlioğlu lambasted the police for humiliating Yunus Emre Geçti, who fatally shot police officer Şeyda Yılmaz in İstanbul, during his arrest. The police put a trash bag over Geçti and transported him to prison in an animal control van, sparking public debate over the appropriateness of the treatment.
While Gergerlioğlu condemned the murder of the police officer, he added that it was shameful and unlawful for the police to put a trash bag over the head of the suspect.
In response Şengil took to social media to issue a direct threat, calling on his party’s supporters to “put a garbage bag over Gergerlioğlu’s head and parade him through the streets.”
BBP followers, often known as the “Alperen,” are an ultranationalist and religiously conservative group that has a history of taking aggressive stances on political issues, raising concerns about potential escalation. Gergerlioğlu, known for his work as a human rights defender, has long been an outspoken critic of state violations, including the treatment of detainees.
His condemnation of both the murder and the police’s actions sparked a fierce backlash from right-wing figures like Şengil, with some viewing his comments as disrespectful to law enforcement.
