Turkey: Sick Premier Locked in Car
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEOCT. 19, 2006
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Turkey questioned the competence of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security staff after it rushed him unconscious to a hospital in Ankara on Tuesday after a drop in his blood sugar level and accidentally locked him in his car. As they arrived at the hospital, Mr. Erdogan’s driver and bodyguards jumped out of the car and slammed the doors, activating the automatic lock system, with the car key left in the ignition. As the prime minister lay unconscious inside, they reportedly struggled for about 10 minutes to break the thick window of the armored car, aided by workers at a nearby construction site who brought a sledgehammer and a chisel. The newspaper Hurriyet called it “a security scandal,” while another paper, Sabah, asked, “What if the prime minister was having a heart attack?” Mr. Erdogan, 52, above, was treated for about nine hours and discharged. Doctors said he had had a drop in blood sugar, caused by exhaustion and fasting for Ramadan.