A court in southern Turkey's Adana has ordered the acquittal of three individuals accused of attempting to put a sack over the head of a U.S. soldier two years ago in a protest.
Yalçın Semir Akarsu and Cenk Kızılırmak, members of the Youth Union of Turkey (TGB), were at Incirlik Air Base to attend a social event. The duo was apprehended when they approached Nicholas Allen Campbell and filmed their attempt to put a sack over his head, in reaction to the infamous "hood event" in Iraq.
In 2003, a group of Turkish troops operating in northern Iraq's Sulaymaniyah as part of a special forces team was detained by U.S. troops who raided their safe house The U.S. troops put hoods on the captured military personnel. The incident caused public outrage in Turkey. Akarsu and Kızılırmak, along with Sinan Sungur, who released the video of the incident online, were released pending trial after their initial detention.