Turkish PM's adviser goes on sick leave for injury to his leg — after kicking a protester
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Yusuf Yerkel, an adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has now gone on medical leave for a week — after a controversial event in which he was photographed kicking a protester.
The incident occurred last week during Erdoğan's visit to the town of Soma, which was struck by a mining disaster that has killed 301 people. In the widely circulated photo, the protester was already being held on the ground by police special forces as Yerkel was standing and kicking him.
Hürriyet Daily News reports:
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According to the medical report, Yerkel went to the Ankara Atatürk Training and Research Hospital at around 8 p.m. on the same day with a complaint about pain and panicula on his right knee and was examined by Dr. Servan Gökhan. In the medical examination, Yerkel reportedly said the pain and panicula on his knee emerged because he fell.He has been diagnosed with soft tissue trauma and given medical leave.
In a press conference on Friday, a spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) stood by Yerkel's version of the altercation: "Yusuf Yerkel said the person who he was kicking on the floor had attacked him, injured him, and that he has taken medical leave for seven days."
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