Turkey: Man in car chased, fired at, injured by the police

A man in a car was chased, shot at without and injured by police officers in two civilian cars in Turkey's Kurdish-majority province of Van, a deputy for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said.

The incident occurred late evening on Wednesday as the young man named Azmi Yildiz was on his way back home from a visit, after he realized that there were two cars behind him, apparently in hot pursuit.

HDP deputy Muazzez Orhan gave an account of the incident on Twitter:

"Azmi Yildiz, who was returning from a visit to a relative last night, reportedly panicked when he realized that he was chased by two civilian vehicles on the road linking Van to Ozalp. Then he was fired at and injured by the police officers in the pursuing cars. He was dragged out of his car and beaten up. He is in the hospital now. We wish him a swift recovery. No safety of life in the country!"

Having been informed about the incident by the victim's brother, Yildiz told +TV that the man was injured in both legs during the hot pursuit, had to stop the car after he was targeted by gunfire, and learned only as he was forced out of the car and beaten up by the chasers that they were police officers in plain clothes.

"He was able to prevent further harm by faking unconsciousness (...) He has been spared by luck," the deputy added.