Laborer Mürtezim Oltulu, 42, died in Taksim

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Mürtezim Oltulu was born in 1935. His place of birth is registered as Şavşat, Artvin. He was a laborer.

According to the autopsy report, the cause of his death was mechanical asphyxia with rib fractures from compression of the abdomen and chest.

It was not easy to find Mürtezim Oltulu's family. We first managed to contact his nephew, Yüksel Oltulu, who told us that he was very young when his uncle died, so had few memories of him.

I therefore tried my luck by looking for people on social media with the surname Oltulu living in Şavşat. As a result, I was able to speak with Recep Oltulu, one of Mürtezim's nephews, thanks to his son Şerif Oltulu.

Recep was unfortunately unable to find any photographs of his uncle, but told us about how his uncle had moved from Şavşat to Istanbul, and about claiming his body.

Recep Oltulu, nephew:

My uncle was born in the village of Ciritdüzü in Şavşat. None of his brothers are still alive, unfortunately, so I can only tell you what I remember.

After he finished primary school he migrated to Istanbul, to be with his oldest brother Mulazim Oltulu. They lived together in Halkalı.
In the 1970s, he started to work at a meatball stall in the Gürün Han Commercial Building, in the Istanbul neighbourhood of Sirkeci.

4000 lira to claim the body

He never married. He was shot to death on 1 May 1977, but the records say he died in the crush. He was very young when he died.
After the incident, his body was handed over to his older brother, Mulazim Oltulu.

At that time, the state hospital morgue asked his brother for 4000 lira to claim the body. Some people tried to intervene, said that was too much, but of course they still took some money. They agreed on a reasonable sum, and that's how they claimed the body. Afterwards, they buried him in the Halkalı Cemetery, in the Halkalı neighbourhood where he lived.

Yüksel Oltulu, nephew:

My uncle was a labourer. He wasn't married, so he never had any children either. I was very young when my uncle died, but I remember clearly how he had such a great love for other people. I know how much he loved animals and nature.
He went to the First of May rally to celebrate. 1 May 1977 was a huge trauma for all of us. None of us, including my father and our other relatives, understood what had happened. We were all very sad and this sadness continued for many years.
Like I said, I was very young when I lost my uncle, so that's all I can tell you. (TY/APA)

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