MLSA - In an assault case involving journalist Ardıl Batmaz, the Elazığ 5th Court of First Instance decided not to include Elazığ Mayor Şahin Şerifoğulları as an instigator in the file. The case concerns the alleged assault of Batmaz by Ömer Faruk Taş, a police officer and bodyguard of Mayor Şerifoğulları, in front of former ministers Süleyman Soylu and Murat Kurum.
During the incident on April 26, 2022, journalist Ardıl Batmaz was reportedly assaulted by the bodyguard while reporting in the presence of former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and former Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Murat Kurum. The third hearing of the case against the bodyguard, Ö.F.T., charged with "simple assault," took place on February 22, 2024, at the Elazığ 5th Court of First Instance. Batmaz attended the hearing with his lawyers Kader Arat and Zilan Şan, while the accused police officer Taş was not present.
The lawyers argued based on a new expert report, claiming that Mayor Şahin Şerifoğulları instigated the assault by allegedly ordering, "Take this jackal away," and demanded his inclusion as a defendant in the case. They also requested the identification and inclusion of an unidentified individual, referred to as "person 5," who was also involved in the assault, and sought to add the violation of the right to work and freedom to work to the charges.
The court accepted the request to identify "person 5" but decided to evaluate the inclusion of the violation of the right to work and freedom to work in the final judgment. However, the request to add Mayor Şahin Şerifoğulları as a defendant based on the new expert report was denied. The next hearing is scheduled for June 27.
