türkçe links to original Turkish article
(Hürriyet Newspaper, 16 December 2023)
"I'm sure we can work something out..."
Muhammed Hasan Şeyh Mahud, the son of the President of Somalia,
crashed into and killed motorcycle courier Yunus Emre Göçer in Fatih,
Istanbul, on 30 November. After giving a statement to police, he fled
Turkey on 2 December. Contacts with Somalia have been initiated to
bring him back to Turkey for trial.
Years ago during the times of the Ottoman Empire, a similar incident
occurred. English merchant-journalist William Churchill accidentally
shot a child while he was hunting in Kadıköy, Istanbul, sparking a
diplomatic crisis.
On 8 May 1836, William Churchill went hunting in Kadıköy and
accidentally shot and wounded a child. Churchill, an English journalist
who had previously worked at the American Embassy, was hunting in
an area where hunting was forbidden and, in fact, hunting season was
over anyway. At the police station after the incident, Churchill tried
to get off by reciting the great service he had done for the Ottoman
State with his journalism, but to no avail. Subsequently, in court,
Churchill declared that he was nearsighted (!) and hadn't seen the child.
Again, Churchill's defense was unsuccessful and he was put into a
holding jail called "Tomruk" (stocks) at the shipyard, with his feet
locked in one of the "tomruk".
Once the English ambassador was informed of the incident, though,
it took on the flavor of a diplomatic crisis. The matter was made
known to Foreign Minister Akif Efendi and in his opinion Churchill
was guilty. The English ambassador sent a man to the shipyard and
demanded Churchill's release but officials there balked. The man
then went to the Foreign Ministry but was rebuffed.
A note was sent to the Foreign Ministry by the English ambassador
and he received support from the ambassadors of Russia, France,
Austria and Prussia. The matter also made the English newspapers.
In any event, the health of the child who was shot improved so
Churchill was released four days later on 12 May 1836.
However (!), the crisis was not over. According to historians who
have researched the incident, the English ambassador's anger was
tied to a situation in 1833 when the Ottoman Government sided
with Russia against Egypt Governor Mehmet Ali Paşa and the
Hünkâr İskelesi agreement was signed. At the time, Akif Efendi
was a key player in the agreement and the English referred to him
as "Russia's man".
"Later, man."
The English ambassador was keen to take revenge so Churchill's
release did not solve the crisis. With English pressure, on 16
June, Akif Efendi was relieved of duty and in return the Ottoman
Government demanded that the ambassador be replaced, which he
was.
As for Churchill, he received a concession to buy 10,000 "kantar"
(a weight of about 120 lbs.) of olive oil. (!) Churchill founded
the newspaper "Ceride-i Havadis" in 1840 but its circulation never
exceeded 150 readers so it ceased to publish and Churchill was
never heard from again.
Turkish chocolate anyone? An add, right, in Ceride-i Havadis
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