A participant named Hasan Açıkalın on a political TV show aired by Kanal A, which is known for its pro-government stance, defended the terrorist actions by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda during live broadcast, the Yeni Hayat daily reported.
In response to a question regarding the recent Orlando attack in the United States (US), where an ISIS sympathizer killed 50 people and injured 53 others at a gay night club, Açıkalın said “If a people is under attack, [its members] are entitled to respond to that everywhere.”
According to Yeni Hayat, Açıkalın also praised al-Qaeda for the September 11 attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives in the US by saying “Muslims showed that they can react from then on.”
Açıkalın also commented on the al-Qaeda sympathizers’ armed attack targeting French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters in Paris which resulted in the death of 11 people. “This is a consequence. They don’t understand any other type [of reaction],” Açıkalın said.
Both ISIS and al-Qaeda are officially designated as terrorist organizations by Turkey.