Attacker who kicked dog in western Turkey released

İZMİR

The attacker who kicked a dog named “Mia” in the Aegean province of İzmir was released a couple of hours after his detention on Sept. 18.

Police detained the attacker in İzmir’s Aliağa district after video footage emerged of him kicking a dog sitting on the pavement.

The footage, gathered from surveillance camera footage on a street in the Aliağa district of İzmir, prompted outrage after it emerged online on Sept. 17.

The attacker said he did not remember kicking the dog in his testimony. 

The video shows two men walking and talking on the street, after which one of the men brutally kicks the dog on the pavement before continuing on his way while laughing.

The dog has been identified as “Mia,” whose owner Remzican Akansu said her dog was lost a while ago. 

“I adopted Mia seven months ago. I lost her on Friday [Sept. 15] but have now found her. When she came back she was shaking and caked in dirt. There was a lump in the place where she was kicked but now she is fine,” Akansu said, vowing to file a criminal complaint.