"Just the Fax, Mam" Gets Him Out of Jail Free

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 25 March 2015)


          Turkey's answer to Walter White.

Drug baron Dogan Alagoz was captured in a raid made on a
warehouse he had turned into an 'ecstacy' production center
in  the ISTOC trade area in Ikitelli, Istanbul, in 2010.  Alagoz
was sentenced to 12 years, 6 months in prison. He had already
served a total of 20 years in jails in Germany, France, Italy
and Turkey.

Alagoz, whose nickname is "Drug Doctor", was serving his  
sentence at Silivri Prison, outside Istanbul, when, on 16 January
2015, a judicial decree was faxed "from the Yargitay" (highest court)
to the Istanbul 10th Serious Crimes Court ordering Alagoz's
discharge.


The 'real' Walter White. The resemblance is uncanny...

Instead of looking up the number for the "Yargitay", the clerk at
the Istanbul court phoned the number at the bottom of the fax.
The person answering the phone at this number confirmed the
authenticity of the discharge order.  In turn, the order was sent
to Silivri Prison, whereupon officials called the court to confirm
the order.  Alagoz was released the same day.

The Bakirkoy, Istanbul, Public Prosecutor, Ahmet Aykus, noticed
the mistake a month later.  When Aykus realized the the discharge
order was a fake he immediately issued an arrest order for the drug
baron.

//ed. note: TV reports on 25 March indicate that Alagoz has long
since left Turkey.//  


Silivri Prison is located about 75 kilometers west of Istanbul.

Sacrificing Childhood to Butcher a Sacrifice

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 24 March 2015)


   Pity the poor kid who has to play the goat...

A 'Nevruz' (Spring) celebration was held in connection with Turkish
World Communities Week beginning on 21 March at the Haci Sami
Boydak Elementary and Middle School in Hacilar district of Kayseri
province.  At the event, first-grade students (!) put on a play entitled
"Cutting the Sacrifice".

Two male students used wooden knives brought to them by a girl
student for use in butchering the 'sacrifice' - another student playing
the role of a bound and tied goat.   Prior to the start of the play, 'tekbir'
(chant of 'Allahuekber/God is supreme') was sounded and the 'Genc
Osman' (a  nationalistic Turkish anthem) march was played.



     Learning early that 'it's all in the wrist'. 

Some parents objected to the play, noting that "even on Kurban
Bayrami (Feast of Sacrifice) pains are taken to shield children
from the moment the animal is killed. So why are they showing
it here?"

School officials explained the rationale for staging the play
as follows: "at Nevruz the animals are grazed in pastures and
an animal is sacrificed so that a meat pilav can be offered for
Nevruz. That's why the cutting of the sacrifice was shown."


Hacilar district is about 25 kilometers south of the Kayseri capital.

White Bullet-Proof Vests for Bad Guys Only

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 23 March 2015)


All suspects will be wearing white before and after Labor Day.

Igdir's police chief has come out against putting police bullet-proof
vests on suspects to protect them from lynchings and other attacks
as they are taken to court.  Instead, Chief Yuksel Babal has come up
with an alternative idea - white vests for suspects.

Feeling that having the suspects wear police vests was demeaning
to the police force, Babal said "why should a rapist or a child molester
wear my honorable police vest?"  In addition to the white vests,
suspects will wear a beige-colored cap, rather than a police hat.


Previously, it seemed like police were on a friendship march...

Last year suspects involved in sex crimes were dressed in the white vests
and beige caps but now all suspects are.  The practice is catching on
in other provices, too.  Chief  Babal added that "I was uncomfortable
with them wearing police vests.  With this new practice, there's no
danger to the suspects' lives."


Igdir province is way out east, on the borders with Armenia,
Nahcivan (Azerbaijan) and Iran.

Archeology Edition: Scholars of Knidos

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 22 March 2015)

//ed. note: TNT editor-in-chief spent a delightful summer in Datca/
Knidos in 2007.//

BONUS!   links to: Top Ten Archeological Sites in Turkey (Hurriyet) 



           The lovely and talented Knidos.

With the restoration work on a theater and church, two of the splendid
structures of the 2,600 year-old Knidos Antique City in Datca district
of Mugla province, this years' portion of the revival at Knidos has begun.

Some of Knidos's famous scholars include the astronomer and
mathematician Eudoksus, the doctor Euryphon, the painter Polygnotos
and Sostratos, the architect of the Alexandria Lighthouse, considered
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  The doctor Euryphon
and his students established the second largest medical school of the
time at Knidos and Eudoksus's sundial, one of the major discoveries
of the era, can still be seen at the site of the antique city.


            Datca is in extreme southwestern Turkey.

Geographically, Knidos has a special location, at the confluence of
the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.Dr. Ertekin Doksanalti, head of
archeological work at Knidos and also head of Archeology Faculty
at Selcuk University in Konya, said that work at Knidos started anew
in 2013 after a long hiatus. The budget for the project is 941,000 TL
(about $400,000). Dr. Doksanalti observed that "the round and
rectangular towers that guard the harbor entrance are well-preserved.
Knidos's famous harbor is still functioning well."


Knidos is located on the tip of the peninsula, on the left.

Prison's 'Pink Room' Turns Blood Red

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 21 March 2015)


Who'd want to be in a room of any color with this guy?


The Turkish Justice Ministry started 'pink rooms' for well-behaved convicts
to enjoy conjugal visits with their wives as of 31 March 2013.  A related
incident occurred in the Sivas E Type (not to be confused with the Jaguar
E Type) prison the night before last.

Convict Metin Avci (33, 'avci' means, appropriately, 'hunter'), who killed
his cousin Engin Avci five years ago because Engin had raped Metin's wife
Leyla (29), was recently transferred from the Sanliurfa prison to the one in
Sivas.  Wife Leyla and their three children, who all live in Malatya, came
to visit Metin at the Sivas prison.


                         The Pink Room

After a family visit, Metin and Leyla retired to the 'pink room'. There, the
couple argued about the rape Leyla had suffered through, prompting
Metin to try to strangle her with a rope (!). Failing that, he used a knife he
had obtained from the prison canteen to peel fruit for the couple in the
'pink room', to cut her throat.  Metin then cut his own wrists in a suicide
attempt.

Recovering from his self-inflicted wounds at Numune Hospital, Metin
told police that he killed Leyla because she had been raped by his cousin
Engin (!!).  Leyla had been paying for all of Metin's prison expenses
and most recently had scrimped and saved to gather 500 TL for his
dental work at the prison.  There was a call/panic button in the 'pink
room' but it was not used.



                  Sivas province.