CNN Turkish-US representative Yunus Paksoy was attacked and allegedly kidnapped in a residence of a FETO leader by the assailant who drove his car to Paksoy.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” Paksoy asked his attacker.
The suspect then got out of the car and crashed into the camera.
He told me about the attack.
Appearing on a live broadcast after the attack, Park Soy said, “I called 911. The police are coming soon. I will file charges. There is an attempt on life here because he drove his car at me. There is an assault going on.” Three state police came, one of them a detective and the others a police officer. “There is also a wound on my neck. My shirt is torn. I showed my ID. That’s their note,” he said.
Yunus Paksoy, again connected to CNN TÜRK, said:
“I’m just telling you, three police cars just arrived, about 30 minutes after I called 911. There are signs of assault on the hands. They were watching the live CNN Turkey footage. I said that both cars had no license plates. At the front and back of the car, he seemed to know that I was there to do this job, he made a motion towards my cell phone, then he got in his car and left. It seems like he went to my car, took pictures, recorded everything. It was the first time I saw someone try to physically attack me when I was working in the US. First of all, when they came to me they said, ‘Who are you?’ I asked him who I was, and he didn’t answer.”
Murat Janci, president of Demirören Media TV Group: Pak Soy suffered physical injuries
Murat Yancı, president of Demirören Media TV Group, issued a statement about the attack, saying, “FETO attacked CNN Turkey US representative Yunus Paksoy while he was on air in Pennsylvania. This is unacceptable. All defenders of press freedom and human rights should speak out.” Yunus Paksoy sustained physical injuries in the attack. Police teams have arrived at the scene. Let’s see what action the US police will take against the attacking FETO members,” he said.
Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Issuing a statement on the attack, the Foreign Ministry said: “We condemn the attack on CNN Turkey TV channel’s Washington correspondent Yunus Paksoy during a broadcast on the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). Necessary efforts are being taken. The US authorities should hold to law those who carried out and instigated this attack accountable,” he said.
Communications Director Altun: We will follow up
Following the attack on Paksoi, Communications Director General Fahrettin Altun issued a statement, which included the following statements:
“I would like to express my deepest condolences to CNN Turk and Hurriyet US representative Yunus Paksoy, who was attacked by FETO members during his journalistic profession. As I said to Paksoy in our meeting after the despicable attack, we are confident that the relevant authorities of our country will follow up on this matter and no one can doubt that the US authorities will take all possible measures to ensure that those involved in the despicable attack receive the punishment they deserve. We will continue to fight against terrorists, Turkey’s enemies, wherever they are in the world, and we thank the truth-loving journalists who supported us in this fight.”
The identity of the attacker has been revealed
According to Sabah news, the attacker was identified as FETO member Ahmet Can. FETO’s number one in the judicial world, Ahmet Can, is known as the “ghost lawyer.” FETO’s “imam in charge of the judiciary,” Ahmet Can, was known in Turkey as the “shadow justice minister.”
