Police have detained several people after they attacked Aysel Tuğluk, the jailed deputy chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), at her mother's funeral, it was reported yesterday.
The funeral held for Hatun Tuğluk on Wednesday, which Aysel Tuğluk attended after getting special permission from prison authorities, began with a prayer at the cemevi, an Alevi house of worship, located in Batıkent, before her casket was taken to the Gölbaşı İncek Cemetery for burial.
A group of about a dozen people confronted the procession, objecting to Hatun Tuğluk's burial at the cemetery. As Tuğluk's family and friends tried to proceed with the burial, a larger group arrived with cars and trucks and attacked those in attendance.
Police officers immediately pushed back the attackers, who continued to swear and threaten the Tuğluk family.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also intervened, telling Tuğluk that her mother would be buried in the cemetery safely if that was what she wanted. The interior minister then went to the cemetery to persuade the family to bury Hatun Tuğluk in Ankara. He also said the authorities would respect any decision taken by the family and were ready to implement the family's choice.
However, the family eventually decided to bury her elsewhere. Hatun Tuğluk was taken to a morgue near the cemevi and will eventually be sent to Tunceli for burial.
The Ankara governor's office issued a statement that night, explaining how a group had accosted the funeral of the Tuğluk family before being pushed back by security forces.
Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın yesterday said the president condemned the attacks during the Hatun Tuğluk's funeral. "Such an inhumane act cannot be condoned. It violates every religious, cultural and civilizational value inculcated in us. Respect for the departed is one of the most sacrosanct values."
The body of Hatun Tuğluk was taken to the village of Akbuluk 8 kilometers from the Tunceli city center yesterday, where it was moved to the local cemevi, before being buried at the Atatürk Neighborhood Cemetery.
Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, speaking yesterday, condemned what had happened during Tuğluk's funeral.
"This is unacceptable," said Bozdağ, adding that the family's decision to bury Hatun Tuğluk in Tunceli needed to be respected.
He also said that those who are found guilty would be punished to the full extent of the law.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Soylu, also speaking yesterday, said there were some detentions connected to the attack at the funeral.
Aysel Tuğluk is under arrest pending trial for being a leader of a terrorist group and faces a sentence of 15 to 22.5 years. She was elected deputy from the pro-PKK Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Diyarbakır in 2007, but lost her parliamentary immunity in 2009 as the DTP was closed by the Constitutional Court. She was reelected as an independent deputy from a list backed by DTP's successor Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in 2011 in Van, and her term ended with the elections in June 2015.
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