Abdurrahim Boynukalın

Abdurrahim Boynukalın
President of the Justice and Development Party Youth Wing
Assumed office
12 October 2014
Preceded by Zafer Çubukcu
Member of the Grand National Assembly
In office
7 June 2015 – 1 November 2015
Constituency İstanbul (III) (June 2015)
Personal details
Born (1987-09-15) 15 September 1987
Turkey
Nationality  Turkey
Political party Justice and Development Party
Alma mater Sakarya University
İstanbul University
City University of London

Abdurrahim Boynukalın (born 15 September 1987)[1] is a Turkish politician who serves as the President of the Justice and Development Party Youth Wing since 12 October 2014. He was also a Member of Parliament for İstanbul's 3rd electoral district between 7 June and 1 November 2015, having been elected at the June 2015 general election.

Early life and career

Abdurrahim Boynukalın was born in 1987 and graduated from Sakarya University Faculty of Administration. He obtained a masters degree from İstanbul University Faculty of International Relations. After obtaining a second master's degree from City University of London Department of Media Communications, he became a journalist at the conservative newspaper Yeni Şafak.[2] He became a research fellow at Kırklareli University and can speak fluent English and semi-fluent German.[3]

Political career

Justice and Development Party

Boynukalın was appointed as the President of the Justice and Development Party Youth Wing in September 2014, formally taking over from the previous President Zafer Çubukcu on 12 October 2014 after he was appointed as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey.[4][5] Boynukalın became an AKP parliamentary candidate from İstanbul's 3rd electoral district and was elected at the June 2015 general election.[6]

Raid on Hürriyet headquarters

On the evening of 6 September 2015, a mob of approximately 200 AKP supporters attacked the headquarters of the Doğan Media Centre, which housed the head offices of the newspaper Hürriyet. The mob, which threw rocks at the building's windows, was led by Boynukalın, who condemned Hürriyet's wording in a news piece about Turkey's President and former AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[7] Erdoğan had previously drawn heavy criticism after 16 Turkish soldiers were killed by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in Dağlıca, for claiming that the attack would have never happened had the AKP won 400 seats in the June 2015 general election. Boynukalın was heavily condemned on social media for provoking and leading the mob in the attack against the press, while it emerged that he had paid ₺18,000 in February 2015 to undergo short-term military service despite publicly mourning the soldiers killed at Dağlıca before attacking the building.[8] It also emerged that he was a critic of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and had previously authored tweets in support for Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, on his Twitter account.[9][10] After the attack, Hürriyet took Boynukalın to court for vandalism, threatening individuals in order to create panic and fear, breaking and entering, inciting others to commit a crime and attempting to limit freedoms.[11]

See also

References

External links

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