Thousands of members of the pro-Kurdish HDP are in prison in Turkey, and the government is heating up public sentiment against the party.
An HDP office in Izmir has now been attacked.
Istanbul / Izmir (dpa) - An employee was shot dead in an attack on the office of the pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP in Izmir in western Turkey.
An attacker broke into the party office in the center of the city on Thursday and shot around, the HDP said.
The 38-year-old was killed.
According to the provincial governor, the man was arrested.
The background to the act initially remained unclear.
HDP co-chair Mithat Sancar also sees the government as responsible.
The attack came shortly before a possible ban proceedings against the HDP, which is the second largest opposition party in parliament.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses the HDP of being the extended arm of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, the EU and the USA.
The HDP strongly rejects this.
The government and the judiciary are taking action against HDP
The HDP is under massive pressure in Turkey. Thousands of party members are in custody, including former chairman Selahattin Demirtas. A trial of Demirtas and 107 other prominent HDP politicians continued in Ankara on Thursday. The defendants left the courtroom to protest the attack in Izmir.
The HDP accused the government of being partly responsible for Thursday's attack for repeatedly targeting the party. The Islamic-conservative ruling party AKP and its ultra-nationalist partner MHP are "instigators and accomplices," it said in a statement. HDP co-boss Sancar spoke of a planned attack. At the time of the crime, 40 leading HDP politicians were supposed to hold a meeting in the building, but the meeting had been postponed. The HDP employee who was killed was therefore alone in the office.
The HDP chairman of the Izmir province, Serpil Kemalbay, accused the police of intervening too late, although they kept a guard in front of the building.
It was a "political" attack, she told the German press agency.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the provincial building in Izmir.
Some chanted "Erdogan Murderer".
Politicians from other parties condemned the act on Twitter.
Provocations that aim to “destroy peace and security will not be given an opportunity,” wrote Ömer Celik, deputy chairman of the ruling AKP.
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HDP statement
Communication to the governorship
Tweet Hamza Dag
