A man arrested at the scene of the stabbing incident involving the Mayor of Fethiye, Behcet Saatci and his deputy Mehmet Yilmaz was taken to court yesterday.

The trial was held at the court building under intense security measures yesterday lunchtime.

Specialist police teams were called in to ensure the safety of the accused man aged 48 as public outrage at the attack of the popular mayor and deputy is running high.

The accused man was transported to jail after the hearing.

Saatci and Yilmaz are said to be recovering well at the local Esnaf Hospital in Fethiye, Mugla.

Large crowds of well wishers queued outside the hospital yesterday, many bringing presents, to visit the popular council leaders as they recovered in their hospital beds.

The news of the stabbings was featured in many of the Turkish national papers.

Behcet Saatci is a member of the MHP party and retained his position as mayor for a third term with 44.65% of the votes in March this year.

His popularity has grown as he gained 3.37% more votes over the 2004 elections.