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Turkish businessman whose kebab shop was defaced with a swastika speaks about racist attacks

Turkish businessman whose kebab shop was defaced with a swastika speaks about racist attacks

Categories: Latest News

Wednesday August 24 2016

The Dorset Echo reports on a suspected racially aggravated act of criminal damage after a kebab shop in Littlemoor Shopping Centre in Weymouth was vandalised with a swastika.

Turkish businessman Gem Ciftlik spoke of his shock to find the graffiti on his shop front in the middle of the day.

Mr Ciftlik told the local paper “It happened in the middle of the day just before we were due to open, I was in the back of the store the time. It is just so upsetting. It has affected me morally and has really affected my business, people don’t want to come to the shop with that outside the front.”

Mr Ciftlik said he ran a kebab shop in Weymouth town centre but after being subjected to repeated racist abuse, he moved to Littlemoor.

He said, “We had a kebab shop in Weymouth town centre for three years and I was racially attacked every other day. I gave up that business and moved to Littlemoor because of that.”

Mr Ciftlik spoke of his fears for the safety of his family after the incident saying he no longer feels safe and worries that his children will be targeted in the street.

Mr Ciftlik reported the incident to the police who searched the shop’s eight CCTV cameras for clues.

Dorset police have arrested a 47-year old man on suspicion of racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage. He is currently helping police with their enquiries.

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