Man survives lynch attempt after setting Atatürk statue on fire, hitting it with axe

SAKARYA

An unidentified person who poured gasoline on a statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, and later hit it with an axe, survived a lynch attempt by locals who witnessed the incident, Doğan News Agency reported on May 22.The event occurred at around 11:30 a.m. on May 22 at the Democracy Square (“Demokrasi Meydanı” in Turkish) in the western province of Sakarya’s Adapazarı district.The individual was reportedly seen putting a folding ladder and a Turkish flag in front of the statue. Then he started hitting the statue with an axe in his hand and reportedly uttered words in Arabic.After the man attempted an axe attack on locals who tried to stop him, the crowd then tried to lynch him. One local was even seen trying to hit the unidentified man with the folding ladder.The municipality’s police officers intervened in the incident, taking the man into custody and referring him to a nearby police station. The angry crowd pursued the man to the station, reacting further to the incident. The police then took security measures and transferred him to a police headquarters.