İstanbul municipal official found two days after kidnapping

Erhan Karaal, deputy general manager of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Kültür A.Ş., the municipality's cultural affairs subsidiary, was found by police this morning after being kidnapped by unidentified individuals near his home in the Maltepe district on Jun 17.

Police found Karaal tied by his hands and feet inside an abandoned factory building in the Tuzla district.

Karaal, who is a defendant in the ongoing İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality corruption trial involving 414 defendants, was abducted at around 9 pm while preparing to get into his car. His lawyer, Tayfun Taşlıoğlu, said that individuals got out of a vehicle, beat Karaal while he was walking with his children, and kidnapped him.

The assailants reportedly struck the municipal official on his head, placed a black sack over his face, and forced him into a car. Investigations revealed that the license plate of the vehicle used in the abduction was cloned from a neighbor's car.

Eight suspects detained

The Kartal Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced today that eight suspects have been detained in connection with the incident. 

One of the suspects, identified as İ.A., was apprehended at the scene with a weapon. Security sources quoted by the ANKA news agency said İ.A., who was reportedly bringing food to Karaal, was born in 1999 and has 22 separate criminal records, including looting and intentional injury.

Lawyer Taşlıoğlu reported that Karaal had been severely beaten but does not face life-threatening injuries. He was initially taken to Tuzla State Hospital and later transferred to another nearby hospital.

Before Karaal was located, the last signal from his phone was tracked to the Kartal district. His wife, Ayşe Karaal, stated that the family did not have any enemies or any outstanding financial disputes. (VK)