"Beat & Release": They Star in Torture Video but Deny Any Unpleasantness Happened, in Bursa

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 31 July 2023)

"Our own video evidence notwithstanding, nothing untoward 

happened!"

In Bursa last December, Cengiz B., a construction worker, rented a car 

from a rent-a-car company run by Melih Karalar (28) and Ahmet Duran 

Uçar (31).  When Cengiz B. returned the car that evening Karalar and

Uçar noticed some damage.  An argument ensued and Karalar and Uçar

forced Cengiz B. into a car and took him to their office.

Karalar and Uçar then threatened to cut off Cengiz B.'s ear (!) as they 

beat him.  Then, while the torturers covered Cengiz B.'s eyes and nose

with a towel they poured water down his throat.  Meanwhile, their friend

Muzaffer Veyisoğlu recorded the "event" on his cellphone (!).  Music was

played, as Karalar and Uçar beat Cengiz B. some more and took 1,300 TL

from his pocket.  This torture went on for hours, with Cengiz B. forced to

eat sweets and drink tea.

Ultimately, Karalar and Uçar put Cengiz B. in a taxi and sent him home.

However (!), instead, Cengiz B. went to the police to file a complaint and

Karalar, Uçar and Veyisoğlu were arrested.  A case against them has been

opened in a court in Bursa, with a prison sentence of 20 years requested 

for each of the defendants.  

In his court defense, Karalar stated that "I did not behave badly toward 

him.  We forgave one another and we even offered him sweets and tea.

In fact, I paid for the taxi he took and we kissed at our parting. But then

he went to the police and filed a complaint.  I reject the charges." (!)

The court committee decided to keep the suspects in custody and the

trial was postponed.  

Karalar and Uçar adopted this defense, assuming everyone is blind.

"Beat & Release": Super-Secret Treasure Hunt Underway, in Bolu

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 30 July 2023)

                          "Dig We Must!"...but why?

The villagers in Kovucak village in Bolu province are quite curious about

a mysterious excavation being undertaken by miners brought from 

Zonguldak and under the supervision of the Bolu public prosecutor.  The

villagers say that "there's gold and treasure there. No one is allowed to 

get close."  Previously, a sarcophagus grave was unearthed in the region.

The excavation, using heavy equipment, began in April in Kovucak village

of Bolu's Mudurnu district, on the basis of an investigation secretly 

undertaken by the Bolu public prosecutor.  After a month of work, in May

15 miners from the Zonguldak Üzülmez Facility Directorate of the Turkey

Coal Council were brought to the area.  The miners went underground and

began to dig, supported by air conditioning and generator systems.  After

two months of digging, the miners have dug many meters into the ground.

               They're as "in the dark" as the miners.

This mysterious excavation, being done in great secrecy, is continuing, and

the Gendarmerie has taken strict measures to ensure that no one approaches

the excavation site, including the owner of land (!).   It is said that the miners

must surrender their cellphones before entering the excavation each morning.

In addition, no one from the Bolu Provincial Culture, Tourism and Museum

Directorate is involved in the project. 

There has been no official announcement regarding the target of the 

excavation, although villagers say that many people have come to the area

in recent years to dig and search for treasure.  Villager Mehmet Kapucu

stated that "it's said there is gold and treasure there but they won't let us

get near it."

"Beat & Release": Landlord's Goons in Baseball Bat Attack on Renter, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 29 July 2023)

Landlord's goons watched American training video beforehand.

Disputes between landlords and renters over rent increases are becoming

more frequent.  In Başakşehir, Istanbul, Hasan Eğilmez (46), who has 

been renting a flat for three years, has been paying 30,000 TL (about

$1,100) per month for the past year.  When his landlord demanded that

Eğilmez pay 100,000 TL (!) (about $3,700) per month, Eğilmez 

countered that the going rent rate in his apartment complex is 35,000 TL

so he offered his landlord 40,000 TL as his new rent rate.  

The evening before last, Eğilmez and the landlord got into an argument

in front of the complex about the rent issue.  Later in the evening the 

landlord returned with 5-6 others who attacked Eğilmez with baseball

bats.  Eğilmez was injured on his head and body by the blows and taken

to a hospital by a friend.  With the doctor's report, Eğilmez then went to

a police station to file a complaint about the landlord and his goons. 

Eğilmez related the incident as follows: "there were guys with baseball

bats waiting for me and one of them even had a gun to intimidate me

with.  Five or six of them jumped me and smacked me with baseball bats

four or five times.  When the security guards tried to intervene the goons

went after them.  I won't relent on seeking justice!"

                                           Not a baseball fan.

"Beat & Release": Recidivist Istanbul Taxi Driver Can Get License Back in 2081 (!)

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 July 2023)

                                             "What?"

On Wednesday in Istanbul, plain-clothes police pretending to be 

customers got into a taxi and asked the driver to take them to the

Kağıthane area.  In response, the driver said "I won't go there - too

much traffic."  The policemen then identified themselves and the

taxi driver tried to flee. 

After a brief chase, the driver, Bayram T., was caught.  An

investigation revealed that he had no driver's license and because

of various traffic violations he won't be eligible to get a new one

until 2081 (!). 

Police fined Bayram T. 13,205 TL (about $500) and the owner of

the taxi 8,190 (about $300).  Further investigations determined that

Bayram T. was caught for driving drunk in 2012 and his license was

taken away then.  Nevertheless, Bayram T. continued to drive and

was caught another 15 times for drunk driving (!).  

Bayram T. used others' taxis for 4-5 hours and was cited for violations

using 10 different taxis.  On 29 November 2020, the Istanbul 

municipality issued this tweet about Bayram T.: "this driver has been

caught driving without a license three times in the last three months.

He has no license because of drunk driving violations and has been 

banned from driving."  

With regard to the restoration of Bayram T.'s license on 26 June 2081 (!), 

he will be able to get his license back then if he gets a successful 

"psychotechnical" report and is cleared by a psychiatric professional.

                                                 Role model

 

"Beat & Release": It's the Heat! Deadly Rent and Loud Music Disputes in Rize and Adana

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 26 July 2023)

                                          Rent-a-killer

The evening before last in Rize, Mücahit Kazancı (27) met with Hilal

Ak, the nephew of his renter, whose rent Kazancı wanted to raise.  

(Predictably) an argument erupted between Kazancı and Ak, along with

Ak's friends Sedat S. (24) and Miraç B. (25).  In the ensuing fight, 

Kazancı stabbed all three of them, killing Ak.  Sedat S. remains in 

intensive care, while Miraç B.'s condition is said to be good. Kazancı

was arrested and jailed. 

****************************************************

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 26 July 2023)

                                     It's cooler inside.

In Adana's Yüreğir district, coffeehouse manager Muhammet Ali Binen

got into an argument a few days ago with neighbors Tugay Kopal and

Mahir Palamut, who complained about the loud music coming from the 

coffeehouse.   Bystanders were able to squelch the argument then but the

enmity between the parties remained. 

Last evening, Binen came in his car to the coffeehouse and the argument

with Kopal and Palamut resumed, prompting Binen to grab a pump-action

hunting rifle from his car.  He shot both Kopal and Palamut but then put

the rifle to his own head and pulled the trigger (!).  Kopal and Binen were

pronounced dead at the scene, while the seriously injured Palamut was

taken to a hospital. 

"Beat & Release": Gang Bungles "Mission Impossible" in Ankara, Just as Tom Cruise Comes to Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 24 July 2023)

     Maybe they'll get remedial training from Tom in jail. 

Gang leader Ercan Yılmaz, wanted in Turkey for 25 different crimes,

fled to Georgia.  Three years ago Yılmaz sent his gang to extort tribute 

from shopkeeper Z.B. in Ordu.  Z.B. refused to yield and moved his 

family to Ankara in the face of the gang's threats.   

The gang wouldn't relent, though, and tracked down Z.B. in Ankara

last March, raking his shop with gunfire and leaving this message:

"we'll find you anywhere and you'll pay us the money we want 

sooner or later!"  Nevertheless, Z.B. continued to resist paying the

gang so Yılmaz sent new instructions from Georgia, such that gang

members came to Ankara from Aydın in a "korsan" (pirate/unregistered)

taxi and scouted out Z.B.'s workplace.

Tom Cruise at Istanbul's Kapalı Çarşı (Covered Bazaar) on 

Sunday.

The gang members then returned to Aydın, gathered weapons for the

attack and rented a car to return to Ankara.  The rental car was left in

a particular spot in Ankara for hit-man (!) Alper Calayır and getaway

driver Oğuzhan T, who came to Ankara from Istanbul, to use during 

the attack on Z.B.  Calayır and Oğuzhan T. then went to Z.B.'s shop to 

kill him but mistakenly shot his son C.B. (!), wounding him in the leg.   

Calayır and Oğuzhan T. fled in the rental car.

Police found the abandoned rental car 15 kilometers away in Altındağ.

In addition, thanks to surveillance camera footage, police found the

gun used in the attack in a garbage can in front of the Ankara bus

terminal.  As a result, police made simultaneous raids in Istanbul,

Ankara, Aydın, Izmir, Denizli, Sakarya and Ordu, taking 13 suspects,

including Calayır, into custody.  Police learned that the gang members

received 100,000 TL (about $3,700) to plan the attack on Z.B. and 

the hit-men received 200,000 TL (about $7,400), evidently from Yılmaz.

Hoping to get jail leave to act as extras in Tom's new MI.

"Beat & Release": Danish-Turkish Tragedy Rivaling "Hamlet", in Cappadocia

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 23 July 2023)

"Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand. Blood and 

revenge are hammering in my head" - Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

Zübeyde Timur, who lives in Denmark, brought her 7-year-old daughter

Hatice with her for a vacation in her hometown Adana.  From there,

mother and daughter went to stay in a hotel in Nevşehir.  Yaşar Timur

(53), from whom Zübeyde hanım was divorced three years ago and who

is also her relative, learned of their whereabouts and went to the hotel

in Avanos in Cappadocia where mother and daughter were staying. 

Timur, who is a citizen of Denmark, where he too lives, found Zübeyde

hanım and Hatice in the hotel pool yesterday at about half-past two in

the afternoon.  An argument erupted and Timur stabbed both mother 

and daughter to death in the pool.  Timur fled but later turned himself

in to the police.

"Beat & Release": He's Now "Famous" and "Most Wanted" for All The Wrong Reasons, in Bostancı

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 22 July 2023)

                                     Forever infamous.

Very early last Tuesday morning as Temel Ünlü (whose surname means 

"famous") was fleeing in his car from a police checkpoint on the shore 

road in Bostancı, Istanbul, he hit bicyclist Doğanay Güzelgün (51), who 

died from the impact.  Ünlü fled and remains at large.

Güzelgün's nephew Tunay Erol stated that "this fellow (Ünlü) fled from

the police, doing about 90 mph when he hit my uncle.  It is very strange

that he hasn't been caught yet.  He has a record of 10-12 other crimes."

                      Murder weapon.

Initially, one Mehmet Can Ç. surrendered to the police claiming he was

the driver.  However (!), when he learned that Güzelgün had died he 

told police that it was Ünlü who was driving.  Mehmet Can Ç. was 

released under judicial control, as police efforts to nab Ünlü continue.

                     Fellow bicyclists in solidarity today.

"Beat & Release": Finally! Big Foot Found in Stream, in Artvin

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 21 July 2023)

                  Uh, you forgot something big foot.

A human foot has been found along a stream in Artvin's Borçka district (!).  

The foot has been sent to the police forensic lab for DNA tests and the

municipality has announced by means of loudspeakers that anyone who

wants a DNA test done should come to the district's Gendarmerie command 

HQS.   (one-footed requesters will get preferential treatment).

Yasin Şimşek was fishing in the Zigan stream in Karşıköy village at 

around noon when he noticed the lonesome human foot in the water.

Şimşek informed the Gendarmerie and the municipality made the

following announcement over loudspeakers to the Borçka public:

"A human foot has been found in Artvin Borçka.  Anyone who has 

a missing friend or relative and wants to have a DNA test performed

should contact the Gendarmerie Command." 

 

"Beat & Release": They Killed Each Other With the Same Gun, in Kocaeli

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 19 July 2023)

                               Share and share alike.

In Kocaeli's Körfez district yesterday evening, Tamer Yatan, who works

in the Körfez municipality's technical cadre, entered the guard shack 

where guard Kasım Kalın was on duty for the Technical Issues Directorate.

A fight erupted between the two and Kalın shot Yatan with his duty 

revolver.  A tussle ensued and Yatan, although injured, was able to 

wrestle the gun away from Kalın and shot him.  Both of them were 

taken to a hospital where, despite all efforts, they died. 

"Beat & Release": Young Woman Liberates Her Kitten from North Cyprus Quarantine

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 17 July 2023)

Refused to give statement: "cat got my tongue", she said.

Aynur Yılmaz (22), a university student in Northern Cyprus, has been 

arrested for "stealing" her own 4-month old kitten from a quarantine 

site (!).  Animals brought into Northern Cyprus are required to be held in 

quarantine for a set period.  Aynur hanım has been fined 7,000 TL

(about $267) and must appear at a police station once every 15 days. 

Can you blame her??!!

"Beat & Release": Drunken Louts and Semi-Automatic Hunting Rifles - a Bad Mix, in Esenyurt

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 16 July 2023)

                            Al Capone would be proud.

The day before yesterday in Istanbul's Esenyurt district there was a 

shootout between two groups in broad daylight, just like in the movies.

According to reports, a group of drunken louts in a car came to the

Atatürk neighborhood and began acting up.  Local residents objected

to this behavior and a faceoff ensued.

The drunken louts in the car opened fire on the local residents, who 

returned fire, with both groups using semi-automatic hunting rifles (!).  

The neighborhood invaders fled and, miraculously, no one was killed

or wounded in the firefight. 

Police determined the identities of two of those involved in the clash,

thanks to camera footage, and took H.C. and C.B. into custody.  H.C.

had a blank-shooting revolver in his possession and C.B. was seen to 

have been using a semi-automatic hunting rifle during the incident. 

Both of them were charged with "violating the law concerning firearms"

(!) and "intentionally disturbing the peace" and jailed.

  

"Beat & Release": Sibling Inheritance Massacres, in Pendik and Samsun

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 12 July 2023)

                                       In happier days.

25 years ago siblings Özden, Özen and Osman Özkul founded a metals

factory in Kocaeli's Gebze district.  Two years ago a dispute erupted 

among the siblings and Özden and Özen left the partnership.  Meanwhile,

an inheritance squabble continued between them. 

Last Saturday, Osman encountered Özden and Özen, along with their

guests Zafer Öztürk and his wife Meltem Öztürk, in the parking lot of

the apartment residence where all of them live in Pendik.  Osman opened 

fire on Özden and Özen and in the resulting gunfight Osman (51), his wife

Dilek Özkul (45), their son Efe Burak Özkul (25) and guest Zafer 

Öztürk (48) all died. (!)  Özen and Meltem Öztürk (35) were injured.

Police took Özden and Özen into custody, along with four other people.

Özden and Özen were jailed and the other four were released. 

*******************************************************

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 15 July 2023)

                              A crack (head) shot.

In Samsun's Terme district, siblings Cavit A. (76), Ayşe Ergen (60)

and Nuran Topal (53) got into a dispute about the land inheritance left 

to them by their mother, who died earlier this year.  In order to help

settle the matter, an official from the land registry office met with the

siblings yesterday.  

An argument ensued and Cavit A. shot dead Ayşe hanım, Nuran hanım, 

his nephew Murat Ergen and the land registry official, Mert Işık (30) (!)

with a pump-action rifle.  Cavit A. fled but was captured by the 

Gendarmerie in Ordu's Akkuş district.  Cavit A. had been in jail on drug

charges and was released last year. 

"Beat & Release": Hapless "Hostage-Taker"'s Grisley Killing of Ex-Boss's Son, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 July 2023)

                          Failed Hostage-Taking 101.

When Muhammed Nuh Kasadar (19) went missing last Monday his 

father Mustafa Kasadar, a writer for Milli Newspaper, filed a 

missing person report.  A message came to the Kasadar family via

Telegram saying "I'm holding Muhammed.  If you want to save him

you must pay $40,000."  As if they were Muhammed's parents, 

hostage rescue police experts negotiated the ransom down to 70,000 TL

(about $2,700). 

Muhammed's older brother left the money at a park in Sultangazi,

Istanbul, as directed by the hostage-taker.  Police then took the person

who came to take the money into custody. (!)

The hostage-taker, Hakan Öztürk (28), worked at the Kasadar family's

publishing house three years ago.  Öztürk, who is a compulsive gambler

and has a police record for two incidents of  "neglectful harming", 

confessed to killing Muhammed.  

In his blood-curdling statement to police, Öztürk explained that "last 

Sunday Muhammed and I had a meal together, after which we went to 

my home in Bayrampaşa. I mentioned to him the debt his father owed 

me from the time I worked for him.  We got into an argument about 

that and I strangled him with a rope. I then took his body into the 

bathroom and dismembered it with a knife.  So the body parts wouldn't 

smell I put them in plastic bags in a freezer.  I knew I had to run away 

but I didn't have any money so that's why I demanded money from his 

family."

Milli Newspaper Managing Editor Mustaf Kurdaş, noted that Mustafa

Kasadar had given Öztürk a job, mentored him and helped him when

he got married, adding that "this fellow (Öztürk) got a lot of help but

then he became a drug addict and was deeply in debt.  Muhammed had

just taken the university entrance exam and was waiting for the results."

"Beat & Release": Fake Passport Bazaar Raided in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 11 July 2023)

                           Fake passports to paradise

Turkish immigration authorities got a tip about fake passports and last

Saturday they raided two addresses in Fatih, Istanbul, taking Syrian

Abdulsalam Kinan Amin Qassoum into custody.  A search at the two

raided locations yielded 2,396 fake ID cards from various countries,

365 fake passports, 202 fake visas, 844 silicon seals for border entry-

exit, 16,600 TL, $9,590, 19,975 Euros, along with material and 

equipment used to prepare fake documents. 

During his interrogation, Qassoum claimed to be an Iraqi, not a 

Syrian.  However (!), his fingerprints proved that he was a Syrian

and that he used a fake Iraqi passport to enter Turkey. 

Qassoum sold the fake passports he made for between 500 and 

2500 Euros and demanded more money for fake US, Canadian and

European passports.  

If only he'd used his talents for good. Sigh...

"Beat & Release": Romeo Tied 3 Ladders Together to Reach His Estranged Juliet but Failed, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 10 July 2023)

                    Up the down staircase and back again.

On 7 July in Istanbul's Sultangazi district, Süleyman Yıldız went to the

home of his ex-wife, from whom he was divorced three years ago.  

When his ex-wife wouldn't let him in the house Yıldız purchased three

ladders, tied them together and tried to climb to the woman's second-floor

flat. (!)

Yıldız realized that he could not perform this feat on his own so he asked

for help from a bystander.  However (!), when the woman saw Yıldız

approaching her window she screamed and threw a flower pot at his head.

Yıldız retreated back down the ladder but the bystander who had helped

him initially realized what was happening and tackled Yıldız.

Police arrived at the scene and took Yıldız into custody.  After giving a

statement, he was released (!).  The bystander in question, Erdem Sağlam,

explained that "the guy came and tied three ladders together.  When we

saw that he was having trouble we agreed to help him but the lady began

to scream 'get out of here!' so we grabbed him when he came back down

the ladder.  At first we thought he was doing some electrical repairs or some 

such."

"Beat & Release": Bizarre Chain of Events Caused Stone to Kill THY Pilot on Highway

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 9 July 2023)

               The Angel of Death never runs out of tricks.

Turkish Airlines (THY) pilot Saygın Doğan was killed when a stone came 

through his car window while he was driving from Ankara to Istanbul on 

21 June.  A Gendarmerie investigation has determined that an accident in 

the opposite highway lane caused the stone to fly off and into Doğan's

windshield. 

Doğan (38) was returning to Istanbul from Ankara with his sisters Simge

(34) and Sezgi Doğan (38) after visiting their grandmother on the occasion

of Kurban Bayramı (feast of sacrifice).  Upon reaching Ankara's 

Kahramankazan district, a stone crashed through Dogan's windshield,

hitting Doğan and causing him to lose control of his vehicle, which 

crashed into the highway barrier.  He died and his sisters were injured. 

In order to determine how the accident occurred the Gendarmerie 

investigated and reviewed video of cars passing in the opposite (toward

Ankara) direction at that time.  One white vehicle was seen to have some

damage on its side.  This vehicle was found to belong to A.D. and he was

taken into custody by the Gendarmerie in Sivas.  

In his statement, A.D. explained that he had hit a highway barrier about

1 kilometer away from the point of Dogan's accident.  His car suffered 

some damage but he was able to continue.  He noticed Doğan's accident

on the opposite side of the highway but assumed it had no connection to

his own accident.  The Gendarmerie's investigation determined that a

stone on the road flew across into Doğan's windshield when A.D.'s car

hit the barrier.  

A.D. was released after giving his statement.  However (!), the Gendarmerie

discovered that the stone that caused Doğan's death was one of a pile of

stones left at the point of A.D.'s accident by a subcontractor firm of the

Turkish Highways Department.  Consequently, a statement was taken from

an official of the firm and an investigation has been started involving A.D.

and the firm for "neglect that caused a death." 

Widening project not quite wide enough...

"Beat & Release": Thieves Steal "L" from "SE_ÇUKLU" Sign, in Konya

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 8 July 2023)

                          He can't be the "L" forever!

In Konya's Selçuklu district, the letter "L" from the "SELÇUKLU" sign

in front of the municipal building has been stolen. (!)  Mayor Ahmet 

Pekyatırmacı posted a plea on social media asking the thief to return the

"L".   The theft occurred last Wednesday but the missing "L" has still

not been returned. 

"Beat & Release": Name Change and USA Passport Backfire - FETÖ Member Nabbed at Istanbul Airport

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 5 July 2023)

                    Homesick or on a secret mission??!!

American citizen "Allen Brooks" became nervous as he passed though 

passport control at Istanbul Airport on 23 June.  Police became 

suspicious and checked "Brooks"'s fingerprints and discovered that he

is, in fact, Abdullah Uzundere, a long-time member of FETÖ (Fettuhlah 

Gülen Terror Organization)). (!)

Police found "Brooks"'s American English accent to be odd and escorted

him to an interrogation room, where his fingerprints revealed that he was

Uzundere and on the wanted list as a member of a terrorist organization 

by the Konya public prosecutor.   Uzundere denied any involvement with

FETÖ but was taken to prison anyway.  

It is claimed that Uzundere was sent to Turkey this time by FETÖ for

an "important" mission, made possible and easier by his newly-acquired

American passport.  Uzundere was born in Konya and joined FETÖ in 

the 1990s. He graduated from Kayseri Erciyes University in 1997 as a

mathematics teacher and worked in FETÖ-related schools in Trabzon,

Manisa and Konya.  He went to the USA with a "green card" in 2014,

showing the Pennsylvania address of Gülen in his application, and began

teaching math there.  He became an American citizen in 2016 and changed

his name to "Allen Brooks".  (!)

Welcome back!