2 PEOPLE ARRESTED
People hold a vigil following an attack on Atatürk Statue in Samsun
* Photo: Twitter
Click to read the article in Turkish
An attack was carried out against the Atatürk Statue in Turkey's Black Sea province of Samsun last evening (February 3). Two people reportedly came to the park where the statue is located and tried to topple it by tying it with ropes. Two people were detained by police.
One of the symbols of Samsun, the statue shows Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and the first President of the Republic of Turkey. Samsun is also where Atatürk went to start the War of Independence in 1919.
Following the attack, citizens started keeping a vigil in front of the statue. Lighting torches, the crowd also chanted the national anthem of Turkey, along with other patriotic songs such as the İzmir Anthem and the 10th Year Anthem. The vigil continued till the early morning hours.
Later in the day today, the detained cousins B.F. and C.F. were referred to the criminal judgeship of peace following their statements at the prosecutor's office. They have been arrested by the judgeship.
With several criminal records, suspects B.F. and C.F. were facing an investigation on charge of "publicly insulting the memory of Atatürk."
On the other side, in addition to the vigil around the attacked statue, several people and institutions, including politicians, artists, municipalities and sports clubs, have posted social media messages and shared the pictures of the vigil. Some of these messages are as follows:
#Samsun pic.twitter.com/ru5gE1Bogw
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) February 3, 2022
İzindeyiz.#gazimustafakemalatatürk #samsun pic.twitter.com/tJ4bNG0Phs
— Fazıl Say (@fazilsaymusic) February 3, 2022
"We are on your path"
“Benim heykellerim de benimle kımıldar”
— Sunay Akın (@SunayAkin) February 3, 2022
Özdemir Asaf#GaziMustafaKemalAtatürk #Samsun #Krippel pic.twitter.com/jzaVfaTP81
"My statues move with me, too"
Fikirler Ölmez! ∞#MustafaKemalAtatürk #Samsun pic.twitter.com/MQ3ySCqjVv
— Beşiktaş JK (@Besiktas) February 4, 2022
"Ideas don't die"
(RT/SD)