The Şahkulu Cemevi located in the Esenler town of İstanbul’s Pendik district has been assaulted by a group of unidentified people. The incident was announced from the official twitter account of the institution on September 26 in the following statement: ‘Last night, our Şahkulu Sultan Dergahı Pendik Cemevi was assaulted by an unidentified person or a group of people.’

Statements of head of the Cemevi Erkan Parlak

Sharing further comments about the assault, the head of the Şahkulu Pendik Cemevi Erkan Parlak mentioned that they were also attacked during the opening ceremony of the Cemevi about a year ago, where the attackers threw eggs at the Cemevi site. Asserting that the latest act is also carried out with the aim of threatening, Parlak said ‘they are going to continue defending universal values in the face of all kinds of attacks.’

Following the reports of the assault, CHP İstanbul MP Barış Yarkadaş said ‘the assaults against Alevi citizens’ surroundings have become more frequent again lately and underlined that these acts remind of the malice incidents witnessed in the past.’ Yarkadaş submitted a parliamentary question and pressed that these kinds of assaults ‘must be investigated diligently and not put aside with the arguments that they could be an act of children.’

Cemevine saldırı Meclis'e taşındı

Parliamentary question posed to Süleyman Soylu by CHP MP Yarkadaş

Referred to the Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, the parliamentary question of Yarkadaş includes the following remarks: “Security forces must diligently take into consideration all information they receive and must find the perpetrators of these kinds of acts. I call on the public to be considerate of these assaults which are carried out with the purpose of creating fear and panic among the members of our society; causing unease among people; and, deepening the faith-based polarization. The aim of putting these ‘markings’, which are done by secret hands, is to attack the culture of living together in solidarity.”

Posed for Interior Minister Soylu to answer, Yarkadaş added the following questions: “Has a legal investigation been started with regards to the assault that took place the other night? If it has been, at what stage is it on currently? Have the perpetrator(s) of the assault been identified? What kinds of precautions have the security forces taken in order for these kinds of incidents not to happen again? Is there a security camera in the area where the assault took place? If there is, have the recordings been examined?”

Sources: http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/cemevine-saldiri-meclis-e-tasindi-129517.html

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/sahkulu-cemevi-nin-kapisina-cihat-kazanacak-yazdilar-129471.html