Details of the execution that has Turkey talking: Anatomy of a year-long murder

News: Rojda ALTINTAŞ - 12punto

According to allegations, this "execution" is revenge for a previous murder involving Akbay's brother. While it may appear to be a settling of scores between organized crime gangs, a blood feud that has pitted two families against each other lies behind the scenes.

CHAIN OF MURDERS

The hostility between the Akbay and Karagöz families has deepened with mutual loss of life. 

Two murders were committed one year apart, and the parties acted with an "eye for an eye" mentality. 

The timeline below summarizes the key events of this chain.

Date: December 3, 2024 

Yasin Karagöz was killed in an armed clash in Istanbul. Murat Akbay and a friend were arrested as suspects in the incident; the trial process began at the Bakırköy Courthouse.

Date: August 30, 2025

Ömer Akbay was shot in the head and killed in an armed attack he was subjected to in the Karasu district of Sakarya, while next to his wife and 4-year-old son. His 4-year-old son was wounded in the leg by a stray bullet.

The red vehicle used by those who attacked Ömer Akbay was found abandoned near Karasu one day after the incident.

Although the murder of Ömer Akbay may look like a mafia settling of scores at first glance, the motivation behind it is much more personal. 

Ömer Akbay was a convict with finalized prison sentences for many crimes and was being sought as a fugitive. Akbay, who was said to have hidden for months with no one knowing his whereabouts, was targeted the moment he appeared in Sakarya. Eyewitnesses state that the vehicle used in the incident was waiting on the street before the attack, and the attackers were following their target and waiting for the right moment. 

THE ROOTS OF THE MURDER DATE BACK 1 YEAR

The roots of this murder extend to another bloody incident that took place in Istanbul a year ago. Ömer Akbay's brother, Murat Akbay, was involved in an armed clash that occurred in Istanbul in 2024. Allegedly, a feud-based settling of scores took place between Murat Akbay and his friend, and Yasin Karagöz and his friend Mehmet Çelenk from the opposing group. During the clash, Yasin Karagöz lost his life as a result of fire opened from behind by the person Murat Akbay was acting with. Mehmet Çelenk, who was with Yasin, escaped the attack without injury and witnessed the incident. After this execution, Murat Akbay was arrested and handed over to justice. A lawsuit was filed at the Istanbul Bakırköy Courthouse regarding the murder of Yasin Karagöz, and according to court records, Mehmet Çelenk was included in this file in the capacity of both "witness" and "complainant." In other words, Çelenk was both an eyewitness and the official complainant as the victim's side regarding the murder of his closest friend.

Indeed, in the camera footage of the moment Ömer Akbay was killed, one of the attackers is Mehmet Çelenk. He is the large-framed suspect who got out of the vehicle and opened fire in the video of the attack moment.

After the attack, eyes turned to the social media accounts of the parties. For example, on a TikTok account opened in the name of Mehmet Çelenk, who is understood to be from Yasin Karagöz's close circle, Yasin's name and date of death were noted in the profile information. Dates such as "03.12.24" and Yasin's name appear in the profiles of many accounts.

It is alleged that the brothers Murat and Ömer Akbay were connected to a crime group known as the "Daltonlar" in Istanbul, while Yasin Karagöz and his circle were on the side of the rival "Çirkinler" group. The long-standing feud between the two groups has turned into a personal grudge with the murder of Yasin Karagöz. All those remaining from the Akbay brothers are currently in prison.