DİHA Reporter Attacked in Public Bus

Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Pınar Ural claimed to have been assaulted in a contracted public bus of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Ural had covered a students' action on the Maslak Campus of the Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ).

The İTÜ students protested against executions in Iran on 17 May. Ural got on the bus at around 3.00 pm in the direction of Taksim. After about ten minutes, one person started to harass her.

"He tried to throw me off the bus"

Ural has been working for the DİHA agency for the past 1.5 years. She told bianet that the aggressor asked the bus driver to open the middle door when they were in Beşiktaş. Then, he tried to push Ural off the bus by giving her a few violent pushes, assisted by some of his friends, whose identities are unknown.

The attacker and his companions accused journalist Ural of being a "traitor to the fatherland". When Ural reacted to the scolding, the group started to insult her. According to Ural, the bus driver did not intervene but other passengers started to show a reaction to the attack.

"It came so sudden that I was confused what was happening. The person and his friends particularly tried to provoke the other people against me. When the person asked the bus driver to open the door, he twisted my arm to my back and started pushing me. He tried to push me down".

"I will file a complaint"

"When I defended myself he started to insult me and called me a "traitor to the fatherland". He hit my back and pushed me off the bus. At that moment, everybody started to range themselves on his side. I was forced to get off the bus. I am talking to my lawyers right now to file a criminal complaint", Ural said.

Bus company: We are investigating the matter

In a written statement sent to bianet, the Press Office of the Istanbul Public Bus Company stated, "The bus driver was highly probably threatened by the individuals involved in the incident. We cannot think of any other reason why the bus personal could have been involved otherwise. In case of this sort of negligence, the above mentioned personal will be punished by law. In order to be able to conduct a proper investigation, we kindly ask you to let us know the code number or the plate of the bus". (EÖ/VK)