Statement from İYİ Party Spokesperson Kürşad Zorlu regarding the youth who punched a caliphate supporter

İYİ Party Spokesperson Kürşad Zorlu stated regarding Ege Akersoy, who was arrested after punching a caliphate supporter, 'We would like to express that resorting to the most severe protective measure, such as arrest, is unlawful.'

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İYİ Party Spokesperson Kürşad Zorlu made a post regarding Ege Akersoy, who punched a citizen carrying a caliphate flag.

Making a statement via his X account, Zorlu said, "We would like to express that resorting to the most severe protective measure, such as arrest, for Ege Akersoy is unlawful. We would like to inform the public that we have been in contact with his family and that the legal process is being followed by our lawyers."

"THE ARREST DECISION IS UNLAWFUL"

The full statement by Zorlu is as follows:

"Today in Istanbul, a march was held in support of Palestine, as has been done before. However, within the scope of the event, some images that we can never accept in terms of our national unity and republican values were reflected to the public.

During the dispersal of the march, university student Ege Akersoy, who was also affected by these images, showed physical violence to another citizen and was arrested after being referred to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace following his detention.

While we never defend physical violence, we would like to express that in this concrete case, resorting to the most severe protective measure, such as arrest, for Ege Akersoy is unlawful.

Given that there is no suspicion of evidence tampering or flight risk, which are legal grounds for arrest, and that it is clear that the sentence would be suspended even if a verdict were reached, the current detention decision given for Ege Akersoy is contrary to the principle of proportionality. His release should be decided immediately.

These unlawful decisions, which we have encountered examples of before, cause the judiciary to become politicized and increase concerns about legal security.

"TURKEY IS A DEMOCRATIC, SECULAR, AND SOCIAL STATE GOVERNED BY THE RULE OF LAW"

On this occasion, we would like to remind you that Article 2 of our Constitution states: 'The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular, and social state governed by the rule of law, within the peace of society, national solidarity, and the understanding of justice, respectful of human rights, loyal to the nationalism of Atatürk, and based on the fundamental principles stated in the preamble.'

We would like to inform the public that we have been in contact with Ege Akersoy's family immediately after his detention and that the legal process is being followed by our lawyers."