Istanbul deputy mayor shot, critically injured

As the Turkish government continues its crackdown on dissidents since the weekend coup, the head of the Sisli municipality, run by the opposition party, was shot in the head.

The deputy mayor of Istanbul’s Sisli district is in critical condition after being shot in the head Monday afternoon. It is unclear as to whether the incident is related to the failed military coup on Friday, in which over 250 people were killed and close to 1,500 wounded.

Dogan news agency reports that two gunmen walked into Deputy Mayor Cemil Candas’s office and shot him. Candas was rushed to a nearby hospital. Police detained the two assailants, who were taken out by the rear entrance.

The Sisli municipality is run by the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, meanwhile, has cracked down with an iron fist since the foiled coup. Anadolu Agency says a total of 8,777 employees attached to the interior ministry were dismissed, including 30 governors, 52 civil service inspectors and 16 legal advisers. Other media reports said police and military police officers and coast guards were also removed from duty.

According to CNN, “Just days after a failed military coup that broke out into deadly violence, talks of reintroducing the death penalty have revived and more than 7,000 people have been arrested, many of whom were detained in horse stables, stripped to the waist in humiliation.”
By: World Israel News Staff (With files from AP)

Istanbul