An investigation into the attack on a Moroccan tourist in Turkey

 Arab tourists in Turkey continue to suffer as a result of the bad and inappropriate treatment they are subjected to as tourists coming to Istanbul to spend their vacations. However, Turkey has failed to respect those coming to it.

Istanbul taxi drivers, who have made headlines in the past for physically assaulting passengers, have once again outraged public opinion after footage of such an incident emerged days ago.

Incident details

The video showed a taxi driver assaulting a Moroccan woman. This incident began with the violent pulling of a female passenger from the back seat, hitting her head with the door before pushing her forcefully to the ground and back to his seat. The woman moved on her feet and tried to stop the car by jumping on the front of the car, but the driver hastened away. The accident took place in the area of Ataşehir on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Media reports said that the Moroccan tourist filed a criminal complaint against the Turkish driver and told the police that she suspected the driver when he took a longer route to take her to her destination, and asked her to pay an additional $7.2 (107 Turkish Pounds) in traffic fees. Despite the complaint, the Turkish police released him.

Many Facts

Observers revealed that the tourism sector in Turkey has witnessed some setbacks and a decline, especially with the increase of fraud and kidnapping cases for Arab and Gulf tourists, especially; this has made many tourists reluctant for fear of being exposed to some of the dangers resulting from any aggression by gangs that are dispersed in the streets.

This incident was not the first of its kind against Arab tourists, but rather a continuation of the series of brutal attacks targeting tourists. Two Saudi tourists, while in a cafe in the “Şişli” area in Istanbul, had been subjected to an armed attack by unknown assailants, which resulted in the injury of one of them by a bullet, and the theft of their personal belongings. This was exposed by the Turkish media in an attempt to hide the incident and its details.

Recently, a number of social media activists launched popular campaigns calling for a boycott of Turkish tourism through a hashtag that tops the list of the most popular, in response to the leniency of the Turkish authorities in dealing with cases of assault and kidnapping of tourists.

It is worth mentioning that targeting Arab tourists and stealing their belongings is one of the phenomena rampant in the tourist areas in Turkey, without any interaction from the Turkish authorities in the event that the tourist lodge a complaint.