"Beat & Release": Taxi Driver Rescues Stabbing Victim at 3 in the Morning, in Kadıköy

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 19 April 2024) 

   3 o'clock in the morning - I'd turn back if I were you.

In Kadıköy, Istanbul, yesterday at about 3 o'clock in the morning, Ali 

Rıza Ocak, suffering from 8 stab wounds, was rescued by a passing 

taxi driver and brought to a hospital.  Ocak had been walking in the

Osmanağa neighborhood when unknown individuals attacked and 

stabbed him eight times. 

Taxi driver Ferit Karadağ happened to be passing by and noticed Ocak

struggling to walk so he put him in his taxi and brought him to a nearby

hospital, where Ocak was operated on.  

Karadağ explained that "I was on my way to Moda and I saw this 

fellow trying to get a ride, but without success.  He then appealed to

me and, seeing that he was bleeding heavily, I took him to a hospital.

Along the way I kept talking to him to keep him from passing out."

Karadağ then returned to the place where he picked up Ocak in order

to help the police, who had arrived on the scene.  Karadağ learned that

Ocak's condition was critical. 

Hero Karadağ on duty...

"Beat & Release": Migrants Working Illegally in Turkey Raise Profiles and Get PNG'd

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 April 2024) 

For M.A., an exception to the rule "there's no such thing

as bad publicity." 

Kardelen Bark (26), a reporter for the DHA news agency, went  from 

Fethiye to visit her family in Adana during the recent Ramazan holiday.  

However (!) while on the Metro Turizm bus en route to Adana Kardelen 

hanım was sexually harassed by bus attendant M.A. (16), a foreigner.

Unfortunately for M.A., Kardelen hanım recorded his unwanted advances

and forwarded the video to her boyfriend N.D. who complained to Metro

Turizm.  Another bus attendant, E.Ö., then approached Kardelen hanım

and in Antalya, where the bus made a rest stop, she complained to police,

who apprehended M.A. and expelled him from Turkey. 

Metro Turizm denied employing foreigners like M.A. but the firm must 

now respond to Kardelen hanım's lawsuit.  

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türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 April 2024)

                 "Other duties as assigned" (NOT!) 

In Istanbul's Beyoğlu district, the sight of restaurant chef Yusuf J.

serving diners wearing a (Turkish) soldier's uniform (!) created a 

furious reaction on social media, with one person commenting: "how 

dare someone don a (Turkish) soldier's uniform to serve diners at a 

luxury restaurant in Istanbul owned by a foreigner!" 

Prompted by the storm on social media, the public prosecutor began

an investigation and took restaurant owner A.K., manager A.G.

and chef Yusuf J. into custody.  In addition, illegal migrants M.I.,

A.R. and H.M.Y.A., who were found to be working at the restaurant, 

were nabbed and measures initiated for their expulsion from Turkey.

The restaurant's license to operate was voided, as well. 

"Beat & Release": Innocent Victim of a Bizarre Chain of Events, in Mersin

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 17 April 2024) 

      The Angel of Death works in very mysterious ways. 

On the evening of 6 April in Mersin, after finishing a transport job Ahmet

Karatepe (28) learned that his grandmother Fatma Karatepe in Adana had

spilled boiling water on her leg so he hopped on his motorcycle to go see

her.

However (!), as Karatepe approached Fatma hanım's home in Adana's

Seyhan district he passed a taxi stand on Akif Ersoy Avenue and was hit

in his back by a bullet fired by two individuals on motorcycles.  As 

Karatepe fell to the ground, the two shooters rained down bullets on

the taxi stand and fled. 

Karatepe passed away at a nearby hospital.  As for the attackers, police

determined their identities as İbrahim Efe K. and Aydın T.  It turned out

that earlier that same day at around noon a car had hit the two motorcycles,

prompting İbrahim Efe K. and Aydın T. to beat the car's driver.  The

nearby (and chivalrous) taxi drivers objected to the two beating a man

in front of his wife and pummeled them. 

For revenge, İbrahim Efe K. and Aydın T. executed the armed attack on

the taxi stand but hit the passing Karatepe by accident.  His father Erdal

Karatepe lamented that "if the bullets hadn't hit my son they would have

hit someone else.  He was a fine fellow and everyone liked him very 

much.  We hoped to have him get married and have been preparing a 

dowry for his prospective bride but instead, I'm putting him in a grave

at a young age.  I want the suspects to be caught as soon as possible."

"Cheat & Release": Wife's Boyfriend Hired Hitman to Kill Her Husband for His Family's Money - It's Complicated, in Izmir

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 15 April 2024)

                                    Three's a crowd.

On the first day of the recent Ramazan holiday, Mehmet Akgül (49) was

found dead at the wheel of his truck in İzmir's Bayraklı district.  It 

turned out that Akgül's wife Anıl Akgül (42) had her boyfriend Rojhat

Kızılban (35) hire hitman Gültekin Uslu (45) for 500,000 TL (about

$15,500) to kill her husband. (!)

The day before yesterday Kızılban and Uslu were arrested, while Anıl

hanım was released on judicial supervision.  However, after renewed

investigations, Anıl hanım was incarcerated yesterday. 

Mehmet Akgül's bereaved older brother Hasan Akgül related that they

are 10 siblings, 4 of whom are women.  Five of the siblings worked in

England for 33 years and they sent their earnings to Mehmet bey for

him to manage on their behalf.  

Continuing, Hasan bey said "that woman, supposedly his wife, found 

herself a boyfriend and they began living together, even adopting a dog.  

She has been with this guy since 2018, telling  my brother that she was

'going to visit my parents' in order to cover her tracks."

Twenty days ago, Mehmet bey realized he was being duped and agreed

with Anıl hanım for a divorce.  He told her, though, that he would send

his siblings all of their money, seemingly prompting Anıl hanım to 

hatch the murder-for-hire plot in order to preserve the money for herself

and Kızılban.

  

"Beat & Release": Return of "Rocky" and "Rambo", in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 April 2024) 

                                " Rocky"'s latest victim.

In Pendik, Istanbul, at 2 o'clock in the morning on the night of 11 April

Engin Karanlık, a former boxer, came home with his live-in girlfriend

Selda Uzan and a friend named İkrami Güler (60) for a nightcap.  When

Karanlık took a bathroom break he claimed he overheard Güler speaking

in an importune manner to Selda hanım. 

An argument ensued and Karanlık pummeled Güler with punches, leaving

the latter unconscious.  Karanlık and Selda hanım then took the dazed 

Güler to a nearby cemetery and dumped him there.  Subsequently,

visitors to the cemetery noticed Güler's lifeless body and informed police,

who determined that Güler was dead.  Investigating further, the police

took Karanlık and Selda hanım into custody. 

Local resident Fatih Aydin stated "I heard sounds of a fight at about

two in the morning and thought a woman was having a nervous 

breakdown.  Then the noise stopped.  Evidently, the boxer had beaten 

and killed a guy.  I didn't hear anything else."

Still an inspiration...for better or worse.

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türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 April 2024) 

"Rambo" directing traffic after heroics.

In Şişli, Istanbul, at about five-thirty on the evening before last,

a Russian woman parked her rented electric car in front of her

home.  An individual following the woman noticed that the key

was in the ignition so he hopped in and stole the car.  The women, 

together with her husband, pursued the thief on their

motorcycle and succeeded in cutting him off.   The thief then 

brandished a knife at the woman.  

However (!), sitting at a café on the sidewalk was Ferhat Yılmaz, 

who played the character "Rambo Berk" in the TV show "Yılan 

Hikayesi".  Yılmaz saw what was happening and opened the passenger 

side door of the car to intervene against the thief.  With the help of 

other passers-by, the thief was detained and Yılmaz tied his hands 

behind his back to await the police. 

Turkish sequel in the offing?...

"Beat & Release": Three Recidivist Criminals With a Combined Record of 75 Crimes Were Free to Kill Again, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 13 April 2024)

                                    They'll be back...

On 5 April in Istanbul's Sancaktepe district, Mesut Aras was fired upon

and killed by individuals as he alighted from his car.  At the scene, police

found eleven 9-millimeter bullet casings and reviewed camera footage.

They subsequently discovered the torched car used in the attack in the 

city's Eyüpsultan district and found a 7.62-millimeter bullet casing in

the car.  

Police were then able to determine the identities and addresses of the

persons suspected of perpetrating the attack on Aras and in an operation

nabbed Yasin Tolga T. (25), who has a police record of 10 crimes, Emre

B. (24), 28 crimes, and Cem Ö., 37 crimes (!).   The attackers "explained"

that they killed Aras because of an ongoing enmity with him.  All three

were jailed. 

See you next time!

Instagram Gun Video Tragedy: Uzbek Kills Uzbek, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 12 April 2024)

 What happens when guns inspire Instagram videos...

In Istanbul's Fatih district, last Tuesday evening Uzbek Sardor 

Gabbarov wanted to make a video clip for Instagram with his

revolver.  He took the cartridge clip out of the gun and placed it on the

table.  His friend Ubaydullo Rakhmatılloev (23), also from Uzbekistan,

picked up the revolver, pulled the trigger and the fired bullet entered 

Gabbarov's head, killing him. (!) 

In his statement to police, Rakhmatılloev said "Sardor and I had

'iftar' (evening meal during Ramazan) in our room.  After eating he 

took out the gun from a closet drawer, saying he wanted to video a

story for his Instagram account.  Out of curiosity, I picked up the gun,

which I thought was unloaded.  I mistakenly pulled the trigger and 

shot Sardor.  It was an accident. There was no enmity between us."

Rakhmatılloev's lawyer Oktay Süleyman Öztürk told the prosecutor

that "he mistakenly pulled the trigger. There was no intention to shoot."

Nevertheless, his client was charged with "intentional murder" and 

taken to jail. 

The lure of Instagram "fame"...