 YÖK president Dr. Erdoğan Teziç, who survived an assassination attempt on 25 April 2007 criticized the AKP heavily, stating that they do not just seek political power but also increased government power and also are trying to use YÖK to this end.On 12 May a bomb placed on a bicycle was detonated in a market in İzmir wounding fifteen people just a day before the scheduled "republic protest" in the city.One of the wounded was in a critical condition and later died in the hospital while most of the others were lightly wounded and were released from the hospital the same day.