ANKARA, Turkey — The assault on Turkey’s opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has shocked the country. A man with the common touch, Kilicdaroglu won a place in many people’s hearts when he led a protest march from Ankara to Istanbul. But on Sunday, he was nearly lynched by ultra-nationalists at the funeral of a slain soldier.
“Vile attack,” headlined Sozcu newspaper, above a photograph that covered half of the front page. It showed the assailant punching Kilicdaroglu in the jaw so hard that his face contorted.