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:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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."
-
Jasveen Sangha and the ketamine 'Wild West' of HollywoodIn The Spotlight Arrest of the 'ketamine queen' accused of supplying Friends star Matthew Perry with deadly dose has turned spotlight on a showbiz drug problem
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentaryThe Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatmentUnder the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
