Following the moving memorial service for the late DEM Party MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul on May 4, the chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, was physically assaulted as he left the building.

The man, who struck Özel in the face, was immediately intervened, restrained, and handed over to the police by bodyguards.

The attacker, 66-year-old Selçuk Tengioğlu, was detained following the incident and remanded in custody on Tuesday. He is accused of intentional assault on a public official.

After his detention, Tengioğlu was initially taken to the Beyoğlu district police headquarters, and the case was later handed over to the Istanbul Police Department's General Crimes Division. According to investigators, there are no indications that the attack had a political motive. Medical examinations also revealed no evidence of mental illness.

Özel, on the other hand, suspects a planned attack and named the deputy police chief as the possible mastermind. He claims that the deputy police chief refused to allow the opposition politician to use the parking garage at the AKM during the memorial service, forcing Özel to use the main entrance to leave the cultural center. The attacker had already positioned himself there hours earlier.

“This was a day when we wanted to talk about peace and human rights – instead, this attack happened,” Özel said after the incident. He condemned the increasing political polarization in the country and pointed out that several opposition politicians have been victims of physical attacks in the past. “We accepted these risks when we took office. This act is not only directed against me—it is an attack on the entire democratic system.”

Tengioğlu was already known for a sensational crime. In 2004, he shot and killed his 17-year-old daughter and 19-year-old son in Iskenderun, southern Turkey. Another daughter of his survived with injuries. Tengioğlu was sentenced to life imprisonment and released on parole in 2020. Since then, he had apparently been living in Istanbul, where he is said to have worked as a kitchen assistant.

In his initial statement, the man reportedly said that he had not planned the attack. He said he felt neglected by the CHP after being denied assistance there. Allegedly, his application to the CHP for a food card was rejected on the grounds that he was not a party member. The attack on Özel was condemned across party lines.