Turkish journalist assaulted

ISTANBUL

Police on Thursday detained a fourth person suspected of involvement in an attack on a prominent Turkish journalist and television presenter outside his Istanbul home.

Ahmet Hakan, a columnist for the Hurriyet daily newspaper and host of a TV show for the CNN Turk network, suffered a broken nose and ribs, according to media and hospital sources.

Police took the suspect to Istanbul Security Directorate's public security department.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), spoke out on the attack ahead of his departure from Istanbul for France.

"It is our biggest desire that the government should take careful and coherent steps about these attacks aimed at the media," said Kilicdaroglu.

The CHP leader said he had phoned the injured journalist in the early morning, adding: "I hope the security forces will do their part to find the perpetrators of this incident."

Earlier, three other people suspected of involvement in the attack were arrested, but no further information has been provided by the police.

Hakan – despite being accompanied by a bodyguard – was assaulted shortly after midnight local time by four attackers as he was about to enter his residence in the Nisantasi quarter of Sisli district, Hurriyet said.

After presenting his late-night show, Tarafsiz Bolge, Hakan left work in a private vehicle along with his driver and bodyguard, Hurriyet reported.

The bodyguard was held off by one of the assailants as the other three converged on Hakan, beating him before driving away, it added.

Hakan was later discharged from hospital after receiving treatment.

CNN Turk is owned by the Dogan Media Group, which also runs many nationwide TV channels and newspapers, including Hurriyet, whose premises were the target of two attacks in early September.

Hurriyet's editor-in-chief Sedat Ergin claimed the latest incident had been anticipated after receiving threats.

He stated that applications to the police for protection went unanswered.

Ergin, after visiting Hakan at hospital, spoke to journalists, saying: "He saw the threat but no measure was taken. In 2015 we, the journalists in Turkey, are worried for our lives."

On September 6 and 8, Hurriyet's premises came under attack by stone-throwing mobs. The initial attack came after the newspaper was accused of posting a misleading tweet relating to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on the violence in Turkey and the general election.

The second attack two days later coincided with anti-PKK protests across the country following a heavy death toll among security forces personnel.