A prominent Turkish journalist who has opposed the current Turkish government, survived an assassination attempt.
Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief of Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, survived an attempt on his life on May 6.
The assailant, identified as 40-year-old Murat Sahin, shouted “traitor” before firing a gun twice at Dundar outside a courthouse in Istanbul, Turkey.
Another journalist’s leg was slightly injured, noted The Independent, but Dunbar survived unscathed.
In the above video, Dunbar’s wife, Dilek Dundar and Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Muharrem Erkek can be seen attempting to subdue the attacker before plains-clothes police, brandishing guns, arrest Sahin.
Sahin remains in police custody.
Dundar, who has been jailed in the past, was on trial for “revealing state secrets.” After the incident, the prominent journalist was sentenced to five years in prison.
Of the attack, Dundar is reported to have said: “I don’t know who the attacker is but I know who encouraged him and made me a target.”
Dundar seems to be referencing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan filed a criminal complaint against Dundar in November 2015 for “terror and espionage charges.”
In May 2015, Cumhuriyet published images of Turkish trucks carrying ammunition to Syrian militants. The newspaper claimed that Turkey was smuggling arms to Syrian rebels, which the government denies.
