Police had to fire shots in the air to prevent the lynching of a man who had just murdered his wife in the middle of the street with a gun, to the horrified gaze of neighbours who watched helplessly as the tragedy unfolded: a brutal murder that has shocked Turkish society.
Turkish media reported that the horrific event took place at midday in the Arnavutköy district, on the outskirts of the European side of Istanbul; 35-year-old Serpil Gül and her 40-year-old husband Harun Gül, who had been going through a divorce process for two years, had gone together the day before to attend the circumcision ceremony – according to Muslim tradition – of one of the couple’s two sons.
For unclear reasons, the two had started a heated argument this morning over the care of the children, which had spilled out into the street, under the gaze of their neighbours. At one point, during the argument the man grabbed the woman while pulling out a gun; Serpil managed to get away and tried to run away, but Harun started chasing her until the woman fell to the ground, whereupon she was shot three times in the head amidst the horrified screams of witnesses, who shouted “Don’t do it!” and “Damn you!”, and recorded the whole scene with their mobile phones.
Alerted by neighbours, several police officers went to the scene of the crime, where – according to Turkish media – the killer had refused to let an ambulance pass to help the victim. Finally, after being questioned by the officers over the loudspeaker, the man decided to give himself up by throwing the gun and throwing himself to the ground, at which point numerous neighbours who had witnessed all the events rushed towards him.
The killer barely managed to escape, while the police fired shots in the air to prevent a lynching. Finally, the officers managed to get him into a vehicle to be taken to the police station, where he was interrogated before being brought before a judge. According to Turkish associations fighting against gender violence, at least 315 women were killed in Turkey in 2023 alone, 30 of them while they were going through divorce proceedings.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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