"Beat & Release": Motorcycle Gang's Gruesome Murder for Café Expenses, in Kadıköy

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 22 September 2023)

                              "Welcome to our café!"

previous TNT reporting background of the story

On 27 February 2019 garbage collectors in Kadıköy, Istanbul, found two 

human legs in dumpsters.  Police later found the body's hands, head and

trunk of murdered Rıfat Rıza Özturk (55) in other places (!).  Kadıköy

motorcycle gang chief Ferhat Yılmaz and Öztürk's nephew Fahrettin

Öztürk, the gang's deputy chief, were found guilty of the murder. 

"Yargıtay", a higher court, reviewed the sentence and took note of an 

enciphered message sent from Fahrettin Öztürk to Ferhat Yılmaz: "in 

accordance with our motorcycle club's rules I did the needful.  You must 

come here."  Based on this message, the Yargıtay court ruled that 

Fahrettin Öztürk alone had killed his uncle and Yılmaz helped him 

in the aftermath, so his sentence was reduced from life to 20 years. 

In court yesterday Yılmaz stated that "I went to him (Fahrettin) not 

knowing anything about the murder.  I helped the police solve the case

from the time Fahrettin was caught.  Yet, I've spent 4.5 years in prison.
I'm the victim here (!). I want to be exonerated and freed."  

However, the victim's daughter Ege Öztürk said in court that "the suspect 

says he's served 4.5 years in prison.  My father was killed and his body 

parts were scattered all over Istanbul.  We're not talking about a traffic 

violation! I want the maximum sentence for him!" The victim's other 

daughter Gamze Öztürk said "200,000 Euros disappeared. My father's 

money was spent on café expenses.  This murder was done for money!"  

This explanation was included in the prosecutor's indictment: "Ferhat 

Yılmaz was helping the café frequented by his motorcycle gang.  When 

Rıfat Rıza Öztürk said that he was going to invest his money in real 

estate rather than the café, Yılmaz was concerned that the café's situation 

would suffer. So, two months before the murder, Yılmaz gave Fahrettin 

Öztürk a gun and reconnoitered the murder site ahead of time."

café regulars...evidently there's a dress code.