Killer's family threatened with 'Sur brutality'

The family and some relatives of Yusuf Söylemez (26), who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and 13 years in prison for shooting and killing Merve Acar (28), a cashier at a grocery store in the Pamukkale district of Denizli, and wounding her cousin Hasan Söylemez, have been receiving threatening phone calls and messages. The threats, which target their daughters and female relatives, make explicit references to the brutal murder of İkbal Uzuner (19) and Ayşenur Halil (19) at the Edirnekapı walls in Istanbul. Yusuf Söylemez's sister, Tuğba D. (27), and brother-in-law, Muharrem D. (31), who live in Manisa, have filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office.

The incident occurred on August 20, 2023, in the Kayhan neighborhood. Yusuf Söylemez met in a park with his cousin Hasan Söylemez (25), with whom he allegedly had a feud because Hasan had previously been in a relationship with Yusuf's girlfriend, Buse Simay Karakaya.

Yusuf Söylemez brought Emircan Uyar (20), Muhammet Söylemez (20), Furkan Aygün (19), İsmail Bağlan (21), Tolga Gök (18), and his girlfriend Buse Simay Karakaya (19) to the meeting point. The argument between the cousins escalated into a fight. Hasan Söylemez, who wounded Yusuf Söylemez in the hand with a knife he was carrying, fled and took refuge in a grocery store across from the park.

HE HAD MURDERED MERVE ACAR

Yusuf Söylemez, who followed Hasan Söylemez with a pump-action shotgun in his hand, fired repeatedly, first at Merve Acar, who was working as a cashier in the store, and then at Hasan Söylemez. Following the incident, Yusuf Söylemez and the 6 people with him fled. Merve Acar and Hasan Söylemez, who collapsed to the ground covered in blood, were taken to Pamukkale University Hospital by ambulance. Despite the doctors' interventions, Merve Acar could not be saved.

In the trial held at the Denizli 4th High Criminal Court on October 4, the court panel sentenced defendant Yusuf Söylemez to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional killing of a woman' and 13 years in prison for 'attempted intentional killing.' The court also sentenced the other defendants, Emircan Uyar, Muhammet Söylemez, Furkan Aygün, Buse Simay Karakaya, and İsmail Bağlan, to 13 years each for 'attempted intentional killing,' and Tolga Gök to 9 months in prison for 'simple assault.'

THREATS TO YUSUF SÖYLEMEZ'S FAMILY REFERENCING THE WALLS

On October 6, Yusuf Söylemez's mother, aunt, and sister, who live in various provinces across Turkey, were called and messaged from a number starting with 44. The threats, which were made simultaneously, referenced the brutal murder of İkbal Uzuner and Ayşenur Halil at the Edirnekapı walls in Istanbul. Yusuf Söylemez's sister, Tuğba D. (27), a mother of one living in Manisa, and her husband, Muharrem D. (31), went to the courthouse to file a criminal complaint.

Yusuf Söylemez's brother-in-law, Muharrem D., stated, “My mother-in-law, my wife, and my wife's family are receiving very serious threats. We have no idea how a person whose number we don't know found the numbers of my wife and her family. They are making comparisons to the murders of women thrown from the walls in Istanbul, and we have started receiving threats like, 'I will kill your sisters and your children on their way to school. I will feed on their blood, I will drink their blood.' Naturally, we are afraid,” he said.

‘THERE ARE STATEMENTS LIKE I WILL FILL BOTTLES WITH YOUR BLOOD'

Yusuf Söylemez's sister, Tuğba D., said, “One day after the court hearing, a person who reached all our family members at the same time from a number starting with 44 said, 'You will end up like the girls whose heads were cut off and thrown from the walls in Istanbul. Nothing will happen to the boys, I will take revenge on your daughters.' We are suffering greatly from this situation. Today, we don't even know what will happen to us while we are walking. The content of the messages is very frightening; there are statements like 'I will fill bottles with your blood.' They are even listing the names of the women and girls in our family one by one. No one can take justice into their own hands. There is law, justice, and a legal system in this country,” she said.

DHA