Article content

An aide to Turkey’s Prime Minister, who kicked a protester repeatedly during a tour of the country’s most deadly mine collapse, went on medical leave after injuring his leg in the melee, local media reported.

Footage of incident garnered international attention and outraged the Turkish public just one day after the coal mine disaster in Soma killed more than 300 people last week.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Aide to Turkish PM took medical leave to nurse leg after kicking protester near collapsed mine: report Back to video

And it appears the aide, Yusuf Yerkel, took the following seven days off to mend a bruised knee — located on the same leg he was photographed wielding against the pinned-down protester, according to medical records obtained by the Hurriyet Daily News.

The medical records showed that Yerkel was experiencing difficulty walking due to the injured knee, as well as swelling in the shoulders and chest.

“There is sensitivity with leg and arm movements,” a doctor wrote of the aide’s condition, according to Hurriyet.

During Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s tour through Soma on May 14, angry protesters heckled Erdogan and scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police in Soma, forcing the Turkish leader to take refuge in a supermarket before being driven off in a black vehicle.