ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Kurdish family who was attacked last week in Turkey returned to Erbil where they were welcomed by the governor on Monday.
“It is right that Mushtaq Mahmoud is in good health and thank God you have returned safely to your own country and city. However, for us this case is not over,” Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said in a press conference.
“The attackers should serve as an example to all those who harbor violent mindsets, so that neither in Turkey nor in our county will somebody dare attack their guests,” he added.
Mahmoud and his family were traveling through Turkey’s southern province of Mersin when he and his son were assaulted after getting into a car accident that he said the other party caused.
“The car accident was not the cause of the attack, as the accident was very minor. Also, they caused the accident to begin with because they wanted to cut us off,” he said.
Witnesses described the incident as racially motivated. Mahmoud said the attackers threatened to throw him off a nearby cliff.
Khoshnaw said that when watching a video of the incident, he felt like the attack was on “all of us.”
Turkish police quickly made arrests and the case is under investigation. Khoshnaw thanked the Turkish authorities.
Hakan Karacay, the Turkish Consul General in Erbil, has downplayed the incident, telling Rudaw on Saturday that “baseless information has been published on social networks, as well as several false and baseless claims made by various different parties."
