News of Her Death Was Premature

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 18 January 2015)


     Hayriye hanim still has a lotta livin' to do!

In Umraniye, Istanbul, taxi driver Eyyup M. (49), the father of
two children, was at odds with Hayriye A. (43) so he called the
imam at the local mosque in their neighborhood in Cekmekoy
and, identifying himself as 'Hasan", said the following: "Hayriye
A., the wife of Ilyas A. of Ordu, has passed away. The deceased's
body will be taken away after noon prayers."

Eyyup M. asked the imam to say 'sala' prayers so that the
neighborhood residents would be aware of her death and he noted
that because he was busy with the arrangements for the funeral he
could not come to the mosque himself.  Imam S.K. then read the
prayers related to Hayriye A.'s 'death' over the mosque loudspeaker.

Hayriye A. was understandably shocked to hear of her own death
and went straight to the police to file a complaint.  She took the
announcement of her 'death' as a death threat and added that "I
suspect Eyyup M. of perpetrating this because he has previously
threatened me.  In 2011 I filed a complaint and a suit against him.
When the threats continued, I again filed a complaint on 26 July
2012."

Eyyup M. confessed to the accusations and has been indicted for the
crime of 'disturbing peace of mind', which carries a jail term of
from 3 months to a year. In his own words, Eyyup M. said that
"I was friends with the complainant Hayriye A. for two years
after 2008.  Because of some enmity between us, I called the imam
in her neighborhood and asked him to say prayers in connection
with Hayriye A.'s death.  I did this because for me she has died.
It was a momentary act of anger on my part."

Imam S.K., who said he was duped, explained that "after I said
the prayers, a relative of Hayriye A.'s came and I learned that
she had not died.  I trusted the person who called me and did
my duty."


            Umraniye district of Istanbul.