Friend of Turkey's Erdoğan, Al-Harati, designated by four Arab countries as 'terrorist'
As the Qatar crisis escalates, four Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain - that initiated cutting of diplomatic relations with Qatar over terror ties jointly released a list on Thursday (June 8) designating 59 people and 12 institutions as ‘terrorists.’
Among the listed individuals is Al Mahdi Al-Harati, a Libyan military commander with an Irish citizenship who previously served as the mayor of Tripoli.
In Turkey, Al-Harati is most commonly remembered with a photograph of his where he is kissing the current president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the forehead.
The photo was taken at Ankara Atatürk Hospital while Al-Harati, who had been brought there for treatment after he had got wounded on Mavi Marmara Flotilla, was visited by then the prime minister Erdoğan.
In a gesture to praise and bless Erdoğan, Al-Harati asked him if he could ‘kiss him on the forehead’ and then the photo was taken.
Erdoğan and his party AKP have for long been persistently criticized by the opposition in the country for leading close relations with individuals and groups linked to radical Islam.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/erdogan-i-open-harati-teror-listesinde-163707.html