A 65-year-old man who disrupted the dawn service at Anzac Cove has been released from custody and won’t face charges.
A Turkish Gendarmerie spokesman said Ali Riza Ersoy was interviewed at length and documents he had were seized but he was released with no further action pending, News Ltd reported on Friday.
“Ultimately there was no crime committed, people are free to make opinions known as long as it does not include violence, which it didn’t,” News Ltd reported the spokesman as saying.
“We are more sensitive of these things about this (Anzac Day) time and Australian importance and we don’t ever want trouble.”
Mr Ersoy on Thursday started yelling as Australian Veterans Affairs’ Minister Warren Snowdon concluded his speech to 5200 pilgrims who’d gathered at Gallipoli to pay their respects to the war dead.
The protester, a dual Turkish-Australian national who used to live in Sydney, reportedly said the NSW government was trying to hide scandals and he needed to go back to Australia to fight discrimination.
“The Australian police are trying to kill me,” he yelled at the dawn service on Thursday.
At the time a veterans affairs’ spokeswoman said: “This was an isolated incident by a lone protester that was dealt with accordingly by the appropriate authorities – the Turkish police.” – AAP
Also see: Anzac Day in London commemorated with service at Westminster Abbey
