Terrifying moment wife saves husband from gunman in shocking assassination attempt outside court
THIS is the terrifying moment a wife saved her husband from a gunman in a dramatic assassination attempt outside a Turkish court.
The shooter yells “traitor” and takes several shots at Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, before he is subdued.
Dundar’s wife, Dilek, courageously obstructs the gunman and he is soon wrestled to the ground with the help of a policeman.
Dundar was waiting outside the courthouse while judges decided on a verdict when he was attacked.
He escaped unharmed but Yagiz Senkal, a journalist working for the private NTV television station, was shot in the leg.
Plain clothed officers then forced the man to remove the jacket to check he is unarmed.
He is then forced to lie face down on the ground while a policeman searches his pockets and places handcuffs on him.
The Dogan news agency named the attacker as 40-year-old Murat Sahin, who is believed to have a criminal record.
Dundar said after the attack: “I don’t know who the attacker is but I know who encouraged him and made me a target.”
His comments are thought to have been aimed at the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others who have called for him to be punished.
Last year Cumhuriyet published what it claimed were images of Turkish trucks carrying ammunition to Syrian militants.
These were used as proof that Turkey was smuggling arms to rebel groups fighting Syria’s regime – a claim the government rejects.
Erdogan filed a complaint against the journalists and is a plaintiff in the case.
Erdogan accused Dundar of undermining Turkey’s international reputation and told him that he would pay a heavy price.
Dundar criticised the government and claimed they had created a climate of fear and channelled hatred towards him.
After the assassination attempt the editor said: “I am okay. The court was in a break to deliver a verdict.
The attack occurred after we went out to wait for the ruling. I don’t know who or what it is. Only saw the gun had been pointed at me.”
Dundar was acquitted of espionage but were found guilty of revealing state secrets over the arms story.
They will not immediately be placed in detention as the court of appeal has yet to rule on the case.
Dundar told the press: “We will continue to do our job as journalists, despite all these attempts to silence us.
“We have to preserve courage in our country.”