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Turkey
Yasar and Ipek Dedeoglu (left) shown in a Rudaw video recorded on July 12 at their house in Konya. Mehmet Altun (right) has been arrested in connection with their murders. Photos: Rudaw and Anadolu Agency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A suspect in the murder of a Kurdish family in Turkey has confessed to the crime, a pro-Kurdish news outlet reported on Thursday.
Seven members of the Dedeoglu family, who lived in the Meram district of Konya, were killed last week and their house was set on fire. The family had previously been injured on May 12 in an attack by nationalist Turks who were their neighbors.
Mehmet Altun, 33, the main suspect, was arrested by Turkish security forces on Wednesday. In CCTV footage broadcast by Turkish media this week, he can be seen brandishing a weapon at the family’s home on the night of the murder.
In his confession, Altun said he went to the family’s house to ask them to withdraw their complaint regarding the May 12 attack, Mezopotamya Agency reported. He said that he introduced himself as an official, but the family recognized him after he took off his mask.
“I pulled out my gun and told them to withdraw their criminal complaint against my elder sister and her spouse,” Mezopotamya Agency quoted him as saying. He wanted them to sign a document he had prepared, but after the family recognized him and tried to approach him, he shot them dead.
“In order to leave no traces behind, I shot again while they were lying on the floor” and then set the house on fire to destroy security camera footage, he said.
The murder of the Dedeoglu family stirred up anger both in Turkey and abroad, especially among Kurds, some of whom described it as a racist attack.
Yasar Dedeoglu, 65, and his family moved from the Kurdish-majority Kars province to Konya more than two decades ago.
He spoke to Rudaw on July 12, the day his attackers went on trial for the May attack on the family. “They said: ‘We are Ulkucu [Idealists]. We will remove you from here. You are Kurds and do not deserve to stay here.’ They have been saying this for 12 years,” he said, referring to a group that is affiliated with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) Grey Wolves.
Turkish authorities have denied the attack had racist links.
Seven members of the Dedeoglu family, who lived in the Meram district of Konya, were killed last week and their house was set on fire. The family had previously been injured on May 12 in an attack by nationalist Turks who were their neighbors.
Mehmet Altun, 33, the main suspect, was arrested by Turkish security forces on Wednesday. In CCTV footage broadcast by Turkish media this week, he can be seen brandishing a weapon at the family’s home on the night of the murder.
In his confession, Altun said he went to the family’s house to ask them to withdraw their complaint regarding the May 12 attack, Mezopotamya Agency reported. He said that he introduced himself as an official, but the family recognized him after he took off his mask.
“I pulled out my gun and told them to withdraw their criminal complaint against my elder sister and her spouse,” Mezopotamya Agency quoted him as saying. He wanted them to sign a document he had prepared, but after the family recognized him and tried to approach him, he shot them dead.
“In order to leave no traces behind, I shot again while they were lying on the floor” and then set the house on fire to destroy security camera footage, he said.
The murder of the Dedeoglu family stirred up anger both in Turkey and abroad, especially among Kurds, some of whom described it as a racist attack.
Yasar Dedeoglu, 65, and his family moved from the Kurdish-majority Kars province to Konya more than two decades ago.
He spoke to Rudaw on July 12, the day his attackers went on trial for the May attack on the family. “They said: ‘We are Ulkucu [Idealists]. We will remove you from here. You are Kurds and do not deserve to stay here.’ They have been saying this for 12 years,” he said, referring to a group that is affiliated with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) Grey Wolves.
Turkish authorities have denied the attack had racist links.
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