"Beat & Release": Citizens Arrest for Istanbul's 'Bonnie & Clyde'

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 31 August 2022)

 

          Bonnie mulls while Clyde gets his just desserts.

Yaşar Güngor has a jewelry shop on Talatpaşa Avenue in Kâğıthane,

Istanbul. The day before yesterday at about 1530 hours two people,

one of them a woman, entered Güngör's shop and sprayed pepper gas

in his face.  Then they beat Güngor with a gun handle, taking whatever

they wanted as the owner lay helpless on the floor.  

However (!), as the thieves tried to escape Güngör's fellow shopowners

and other citizens grabbed the robbers and began to beat them.  Only by

the police arriving at the scene were the suspects saved from lynching. 

Body searches of the robbers revealed the gun, pepper spray and an 

electro-shock gadget.  The money and jewelry were recovered, as well.

While Güngör was taken to a hospital for treatment, robbers Rıza Ö.

and Hatice D. were taken in for questioning at the police station.  

Later, Güngör explained that "after they sprayed the pepper gas in my

face they attacked me with the electro-shock gadget.  Then they began

to hit me in the face with the gun handle.  I tried to resist.  All I could

think of was my grandchildren. I feared for my life."

"Beat & Release": Killer's Red Blankets Can't Cover Up Murder, in Adana

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 30 August 2022)

                            One too many red blankets.

In Narlıca village in Adana's Seyhan district, police were alerted to a 

body found in the garden of a vacant house on 24 August.  Police saw

that the victim had been shot in the head and covered with a red

blanket.  After an autopsy, it was determined that the victim was 

Ali Haydar Sezgin (32). 

Police determined that before his death, Sezgin had spoken with Ahmet

Çakar of the same village and raided Çakar's home, finding an identical

red blanket (!).  Security camera footage showed that Çakar was together

with Ahmet Çakantimor (20) and Mürsel Can (36) on the day of Sezgin's

murder and that they all went to the home of Yusuf G. (27). 

Police then raided Yusuf G.'s home and he, along with Çakar, Çakantimor,

and Mercan C. (36) were taken into custody.  During questioning all of

the suspects accused each other of the murder.  Çakar, Çakantimor and 

Can were jailed, while Yusuf G. and Mercan C. were released on judicial

supervision. 

"Beat & Release": Alphabet Soup of Characters in Sordid Affair, in Izmit

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 27 August 2022)

                           Facing the letter of the law.

M.Y., who lives in İzmit in Kocaeli province, went to the police station

claiming that he had an affair with F.Z. and that when her husband H.Z. 

learned of it he stripped M.Y. of his clothes and beat him with a baseball

bat, all of which was recorded on a cellphone camera.  

M.Y. also told police that H.Z. blackmailed him with the video 

and had the sale of M.Y.'s car transferred to his (H.Z.'s) relative U.Y. 

without any compensation.  

Police began an investigation and took H.Z., his wife F.Z. and U.Y.

into custody but all of them refuted the accusations.  F.Z. asserted that

she did not have an affair with M.Y.  However, police did determine

that M.Y.'s car was in fact sold.  H.Z. was jailed for "mugging, blackmail,

sexual exploitation, threats and kidnapping."  F.Z. and U.Y. were released

pending trial. 

                              Police line-up for this case.

"I Am Lion, Hear Me Roar! "- No Thanks, in Ankara

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Cumhuriyet Newspaper, 25 August 2022)

                                     Noisy neighbors.

In the İncek neighborhood of Ankara's Gölbaşı district, businessman 

Ahmet Zeki Öner opened a café and restaurant on land that he rented 

from Yılmaz Kıbrıs in 2015.  In May 2021, Öner turned the restaurant 

into a zoo instead. (!)

However, the roars of the lions and tigers in the zoo disturbed local

residents, as did the foul smells emanating from the facility.  The zoo

was closed for a week because of these complaints but in August 2021

Öner obtained a license to operate a "B group" zoo.  Neighbor Niyazi

Gürel took exception to this ruling and the court assigned an

investigator to look into the situation. 

The investigator's report noted that there were 3 lions, 2 tigers, 8 lion

cubs, a deer, 3 monkeys, an iguana, a boa constrictor, an Egyptian snake,

various kinds of birds, rabbits and peacocks in the zoo.  The lions and 

tigers, because of their genetic make-up, roar continually to assert their 

territory but this had a disturbing effect on the psychology of the human

neighbors (!). 

                            They're cuddly...for a while.

The court ruled that because of the foul smell and noise, it had been a

mistake to grant the license in the first place so the zoo is now closed.

Neighor Gürel noted that "I'm 80-years-old and I've lived here for 26

years.  When summer came I couldn't stand the foul smells coming

from the urine and feces. I live right next door and the lions roar until

morning so I can't sleep.  Last year a monkey escaped and was caught

only with great difficulty.  What would happen if a lion escaped?!

There's no such thing as a 1,100 square-meter zoo!" 

Gürel's lawyer Merve Nur Özkan stated that "the Ministry has given

the owner two months to transport the animals from here so this period

ends in September.  As a result, this place will be sealed shut."

"Beat & Release": Rottweiler 'Baron' Sniffs and Scratches Murder Site, in Ankara

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 20 August 2022)

The former happy (!) couple and the persistent pooch.

In Gölbaşı, Ankara, a real estate firm preparing a house for sale began

repairs last week and put a Rottweiler dog named 'Baron' in the 

house's garden to serve as a night watchman.  The same day, though,

'Baron' began to scratch the ground in the garden from where a foul

smell was emanating.   Workers then excavated the soil and found a 

woman's body wrapped in aluminum foil.

Police estimated that the woman had been killed two months before and

they identified her as former renter Ayşen Çöl.  Her husband Durmuş Çöl

was taken into custody.  He confessed that he had killed Ayşen hanım 

with a hammer in a dispute over "possessions", burying her body in the

garden.  He told neighbors that Ayşen hanım had deserted him. Çöl was

jailed. 

"Beat & Release": Neighbor and Actor Boyfriend Stage Theft with Entrusted House Key, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 19 August 2022)

 Good neighbor Seyhan hanım and her "golden davlumbaz".

In the Cevatpaşa neighborhood of Bayrampaşa, Istanbul, Fatma Kara,

who was heading off on vacation in July with her husband Suat Kara, 

entrusted the house key to upstairs neighbor and 22-year renter Seyhan 

Kıyak.   Last Sunday, Suat bey opened the safe in the bedroom and 

found that it was empty and all the jewelry inside missing (!). 

Police were summoned and determined that there had been no forced

entry into the 4th floor flat.  When Fatma hanım told police that she

had given the house key to neighbor Seyhan hanım, police questioned

her and she confessed that she and her boyfriend Erhan Ercan had 

committed the theft.   They had made a copy of the house key, entered

Suat bey's flat and brought the safe to Seyhan hanım's flat.  Ercan

failed to open the safe so a locksmith was called, opened the safe and

the pair took 500,000 TL-worth of jewelry from the safe.  

Seyan hanım and Ercan then put the safe back in the bedroom in Suat's

flat and put some scratches on the safe to make it appear that it had

been broken into.  Seyhan hanım told police that whenever Suat bey

and Fatma hanım went on vacation she tried to find out whether or not

they were concerned about thefts.  She sent Ercan a photo of the safe

and searched Google repeatedly to learn "how far can a security camera

see".  (!)

Police took Ercan into custody and in a search of Seyhan hanım's home

they found 6 gold bracelets and 4 necklaces hidden in a "davlumbaz"

(pipe taking exhaust from the stove), along with credit cards in Seyhan

hanım's name.  She had left a gold bracelet with a grocer for Ercan to

pick up, too, and police seized that, as well.  The locksmith was 

questioned and he confirmed that Ercan had hired him to open the safe.

Ercan, who previously acted on a TV show (!), was jailed and Seyhan

hanım was released under judicial supervision.  

      Erhan bey played a brigand on TV.

"Beat & Release": Drug Dealer Swims Out to Sea But Gets Hooked, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 15 August 2022)

                             Hard to swim in handcuffs.

Drug dealer Mıraç Kılıç jumped into the water in Avcılar, Istanbul, to

avoid being arrested by police last Thursday.  As police approached 

Kılıç ın the water he went further away from the shore so the police

maritime unit was summoned and reached Kılıç, who by that time

had gone about two kilometers from the shore.  Kılıç could not be

convinced to surrender and went further out to sea, even rejecting a

life preserver offered by the police. 

Ultimately, police divers were called in to grab Kılıç from the water.

At this point, Kılıç, nearly exhausted, was boarded onto a

police boat and handcuffed.  Kılıç had been convicted of drug 

dealing and sentenced to 12.5 years in jail, which is why he tried

so hard to escape.  Nevertheless, he was taken to prison. 

 

"Beat & Release": Cold Case Defrosted and Brutal Murders Spill Out, in Istanbul-Kocaeli

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 13 August 2022)

              The coldblooded cast of killers and victims.

Kocaeli police took a new look at a 2006 "cold case" and solved three 

murders at once.  In Pendik, Istanbul, in 2006 Bülent Demir, an

accountant for a textile firm, disappeared with a cashbox filled with

the firms' workers' salaries, amounting to 80,000 TL.  Demir's body was 

found 10 days later - his legs, arms, mouth and eyes were taped and

his throat had been cut - in a wooded area of Gebze, in nearby Kocaeli

province.  The empty cashbox was found by the Gendarmerie in 

Geyve, Sakarya province, but the killers/thieves were never apprehended. 

About a month and a half ago Kocaeli police took up the case again,

taking Mustafa M., who was a watchman for the textile firm in 2006,

into custody.   Mustafa M. confessed that he, A.B.E. and Murat Dayanaç

concocted a plan to steal the cashbox and they killed Demir because he

knew them.  The cashbox was then opened with the help of M.Ö. and

M.K.Ö., although these two had no knowledge of Demir's murder. 

Mustafa M. also confessed that in 2014 that Dayanç had threatened to 

go to the police about the murder so Mustafa M. and A.B.E. killed 

Dayanaç and dumped his body in a wooded area in Kurtköy, Istanbul.

Police were then able to close the "cold case" relating to Dayaniç's 

death. 

Mustafa M. then told police about the murder of Tekin Uğurlu, a member

of the Galatasaray congress, who disappeared in 2018.  Because of a 

money matter, Mustafa M. killed Uğurlu in the car of M.B., and with the

help of M.B.'s father B.B., they cut up Uğurlu's body and buried the 

body parts in a spot near the highway in Esenyalı, Pendik, Istanbul.  

Police found the body and bones of Uğurlu in this spot.  Mustafa M.

was jailed, as were A.B.E. and M. Ö., while M.K.Ö. was released on

judicial supervision. 

Artic Monkeys Chased Away by Shop Owner, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 12 August 2022)

On their best behavior, right. On the left, not so much. 

Members of the English rock group Artic Monkeys, in Istanbul for 

concerts on 10 and 11 August, experienced an interesting incident

in the Asmalımescit section of the city.  

According to information from TV100, after their concert group 

members Jamie Cook and Nick O'Malley went to the club Corridor 

the night before last. Then they chatted in front of a grocery store 

nearby, putting their beer bottles on the ground.  The store owner took 

exception to this and threw the bottles in the trash, prompting a reaction 

from the Artic Monkeys members, who screamed and cursed in English. 

The irate store owner chased the rockers away and was told by onlookers

"they're world-famous singers!", to which the store owner replied "I don't

care!"  Cook and O'Malley, shaken by the rough treatment from the store

owner, took refuge in Corridor, after which they melted into the crowds

on İstiklal Caddesi, the main thoroughfare.  

"Beat & Release": Americans Implant Chip in Brain for Easy Listening, in Elazığ

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 10 August 2022)

Americans caught in the act of implanting chip in Duman's

brain to listen to his musings.

In Elazığ, Serhan Duman went to a private hospital at around noon the

day before yesterday.  Duman explained that "there's a chip in my 

brain, America is listening to me."(!)  and asked a doctor for an MR scan.

Neurologist Dr. Oktay Kapan responded that Duman had previously had 

an MR scan done based on the same complaint and no chip was found in

his brain.

Hearing this, Duman pulled a gun out and threatened Dr. Kapan, who

wrestled with Duman for 15 minutes as he yelled for help.  Nearby 

patients and their relatives helped to save the doctor, while Duman 

continued to spew threats.  He was taken into custody by police who 

arrived at the hospital and jailed. 

Dr. Kapan lamented that "this was a life-threatening and unfortunate

incident.  There was no chip found in the MR scan but when I told him

this his reaction was violent and we wrestled with each other for 15

minutes.  The gun could have gone off at any moment and one of us

could have died."

"Beat & Release": 38 Stab Wounds Later, She Gets Custody of the Kids, in Izmir

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 7 August 2022)

             This is what it takes to win a custody battle. 

Burak Kıncı (27), who lives in Karşıyaka, Izmir, invited his estranged 

wife Aycan B. (24), who had already filed for divorce, for a chat at

a kebap restaurant on 3 November 2020.  At the meeting, Aycan hanım

rejected Burak bey's peace proposal so (naturally!) he took a knife 

from his pocket and stabbed the mother of their two children 38 times (!).

Aycan hanım was rushed to a hospital for treatment, while Burak bey

was arrested and jailed.  After a trial, Burak bey was sentenced to 18

years in prison, with no sentence reduction (amazingly!).  

The original divorce case was supposed to be settled by a mediator

but after the knife attack, the case became adversarial (!).  Five years

after the case was originally filed the verdict was issued and Aycan

hanım was given custody of the two children (!).  As for Burak bey,

the court ruled that he has no right whatsoever to see the children. 

"Beat & Release": Dad Beats Up Daughter's Drug Dealer, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 4 August 2022)

                                      Father knows best.

In the Merkez neighborhood of Avcılar, Istanbul, at about 1630 the day

before yesterday, a father saw that his daughter was messaging on her

cellphone with someone who asked her in a message "how many pills 

do you want?".   The father grabbed the cellphone from his daughter

and wrote back "10 pills" and sent an address where they could meet.

At the agreed-upon time the father went with the daughter to meet

the drug dealer, who came from the Bağcılar neighborhood.  When the

drug dealer arrived he tried to kiss the girl, prompting the father to 

attack him.  Citizens joined in to pummel the drug dealer.  Afterwards,

the father dragged the suspect to the police station.  The beating and 

the dragging were captured on video. 

Local resident Ahmet Bingöl said that "I have a daughter, too.  We 

have no tolerance for sexual harassment and drugs."  Yıldız Erden,

who observed the incident from her window, added that "we all have

children but thieves, sexual harassers and drug dealers are all set free

a few hours after being taken into custody.  They all know this so 

they're very relaxed."

Taliban Flags Fly For Wedding, in Aydın

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Cumhuriyet Newspaper, 2 August 2022)

                        The honeymoon will be in Kabul.

In Aydın, a convoy of vehicles waving the "Tevhid" flag, like the one

used by the Taliban in Afghanistan (!), paraded down streets celebrating

a wedding.  Citizens took videos of the convoy and posted them on social

media, sparking an uproar. 

The day before yesterday, at the time when the KPSS civil service exam 

was being administered, the wedding convoy was blaring music and

honking horns.  The sight of the "Tevhid" flags among the convoy's 

vehicles elicited a negative reaction among citizens. 

Aydın police issued the following statement: "on 31 July at around 

12:30 scenes posted on social media of a wedding convoy moving 

within our province's boundaries prompted an investigation which

is currently underway."