A security detail was assigned to a Turkish lawyer who was threatened after he withdrew from the defense team of an Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militant who killed three people last year in central Turkey.

Nail Gündüz was appointed by the bar association of Niğde, a central city where three ISIS militants shot dead a military officer, a police officer and a truck driver at a security checkpoint, to defend the trio. He was supposed to represent Çendrim Ramadani, a Swiss national charged with the murders, but along with two other lawyers appointed for Benjamin Xu and Muhammed Zakiri – the two other militants charged with the killings – he declared his withdrawal. He told reporters: "I would defend an animal, but these are not even animals. That is why I dropped the case."

Gündüz said an unknown man called him after he made that statement and threatened him. Upon his request, the Turkish National Police began providing protection for the lawyer. Gündüz also said he left home and planned to stay in the building of a political party he was a member of. Meanwhile, the police have launched an inquiry to find out the identity of the threatening caller.