Turkey’s outspoken fashion designer attacked by mob, detained by police at İstanbul airport

Famous fashion designer Barbaros Şansal was beaten up by an angry mob who gathered at an Istanbul Airport tarmac in protest of a controversial video Şansal posted on the New Year’s Eve, late on Monday.

The protesters, turned out to be employees of Turkish Ground Services (TGS) –a subsidiary of the state-run carrier Turkish Airlines–, met Şansal at the İstanbul apron after he got off the airplane; and run after him until he was taken into police car.

A widely circulated video shows that Şansal fell down on floor amid tumult and rushed into the police car after lynch attempt.

The designer shared a video on Dec. 31 to criticize Turkish people’s attending New Year’s Eve celebrations despite several problems in Turkey including mass detentions, corruption, rape, bribery and bigotry.

“I won’t celebrate. Do you know what I am gonna do? I will drink up all drinks at bar and home,” Şansal said in the video before adding:” Drown in your shit, Turkey!”

Şansal spent his vacation in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) before in he was deported by authorities there over reaction to the video. He was later detained by Turkish police at İstanbul Airport.

Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek praised lynch attempt on Şansal and said Şansal provoked ‘honorable’ Turkish nation, in his Twitter account on Monday.

Meanwhile, Beste Uyanık, a presenter at Turkish TV channel CNNTürk, tweeted before the lynch attempt that Şansal must be cut down to size. She later deleted her controversial tweet.

In a related news article before he landed in İstanbul, Anadolu news agency reported the exact time, airline, destination of the designer.

A day after the incident, one of the TGS employees said during his/her police testimony that they could not control their national feelings and added: “We did nothing to him due to police shield.”