The HDP representation in Hewlêr (Erbil) held a press conference in the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) about the fatal attack on Dr. Abdulkadir Sabri Toprak. The doctor, who came from northern Kurdistan, was shot dead in the street in Sulaymaniyah on Thursday afternoon. He was hit by four bullets at close range and died at the scene. Toprak was the father of three children and had been living with his family in Sulaymaniyah for twelve years due to political persecution, where he worked in a private clinic.

HDP politician Aydın Ahmet said at the press conference that the Turkish state has been carrying out attacks on Kurds in the KRI with impunity for several years and that the regional government does not raise its voice and remains passive: "Many people from Northern Kurdistan have come to Southern Kurdistan due to the repression of the AKP/MHP government. Sabri Toprak was one of them. He had been living with his family in Sulaymaniyah for twelve years. Yesterday he was murdered by the Turkish state. Seven of our members have been murdered in Sulaymaniyah alone. There have also been terrorist attacks on people from Northern Kurdistan in Hewlêr and Duhok. We call on the government of the Kurdistan Region and the authorities to stop the attacks. Erdogan and the Turkish state are not only a danger to the people of Northern Kurdistan, they are a threat to the entire Kurdish people. At the same time as the murder of Sabri Toprak, attacks have also taken place in Rojava and Shengal."

Ahmet alled on the people of Southern Kurdistan to defend themselves against the terrorist attacks by the Turkish state. The Erdogan regime is committing acts of terror because it cannot force the Kurdish people to surrender, said the HDP politician.