ISTANBUL – At two galleries in Istanbul on Tuesday night five people were wounded after a group using sticks and stones objected to alcohol being consumed in the street. At the two galleries exhibitions were being opened with hundreds of guests from Turkey and abroad. Several Turkish media outlets reported that on Wednesday.
A group of about thirty people threw stones and hit guests with sticks, windows were broken and pepper spray was used. People living in the neighbourhood apparently warned the galleries of what might happen. The attackers ran off before the police arrived. No arrests were made, but the investigation into what happened has started.
The attack adds to the fear felt by many Turks that freedoms which are in their eyes connected to the secular republic, like the free use of alcohol, are in danger.