Şerife Boz, a woman who reportedly drove to İstanbul’s Taksim Square with a truckload of youths in a bid to join public resistance against a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016, is facing accusations of lying from victims of the coup attempt.
Boz again came to public attention after she announced her bid to run for Parliament from the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Boz described herself as a “July 15 hero” in a question on the candidacy application form.
Two hundred forty-nine people were killed in the coup attempt, while more than 1,000 others were injured. Alparslan Cambaz, the son of one of the victims, photojournalist Mustafa Cambaz, has announced that families of the victims of July 15 are preparing to sue Boz.
According to Cambaz, Boz did not drive to Taksim on the night of July 15; she just posed for a photo sitting in the driver’s seat, thus producing fake news.
A statement made by Saliha Sultan, an Anadolu news agency photojournalist who took Boz’s picture, on Monday also came as confirmation of Cambaz’s claims.
Sultan wrote from her Twitter account that she took Boz’s photo on July 16, 2016, one day after the coup attempt, and that that detail was completely suppressed.
She said she was surprised by Boz’s remarks in the media, which presented the photo as from July 15, but did not mention it to more than a few people.
In the wake of these allegations, Boz claimed that the families of the July 15 victims are jealous of her and that is why they are making such allegations against her. (turkishminute.com)
