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Turkish PM accuses media of smear campaign against veiled woman

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said footage of a veiled woman walking unharmed near docks in Istanbul doesn't prove she wasn't attacked by protesters.

The woman alleged she and her child were attacked June 1 by a mob of about 100 protesters during the height of the nationwide Gezi demonstrations. She said she was attacked because she wore a head scarf.

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Footage near the area from the time of the alleged attack was released Thursday, showing the woman walking by the Kabatas docks unharmed, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Erdogan said the footage doesn't prove anything.

"The media, with the support of some capital circles, is imposing their agenda on us," he said at a ceremony marking the start of construction of a new hospital in Istanbul.

"By releasing the Kabataş footage months after the incident, they are trying to cover it up," he added. "They did not see the attacks on veiled women all around the country during the Gezi protest. They do not recognize the forensic medicine reports, they do not recognize the testimony of the victim."

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