Murder of Ozan Ulu: ‘He was first pushed to crime, then killed’

* Photo: ilkha.com

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"Ozan was a child full of life. His only fault was to be born in the GAP (Sakarya) Neighborhood of Siirt province and to meet Musa S., who turned the neighborhood into a hotbed of drugs. Siirt is a very small place. Musa and his companions are selling drugs in this tiny neighborhood.

"They are poisoning children. Someone must say a stop to this. Don't let others die like Ozan. Don't let other households be ruined.

"We couldn't hug my brother for the last time. He had come from İstanbul to Siirt. He was killed on that day. When his body was found 17 days later, we learned that he had been stabbed and thrown from a cliff.

"Saying that there is a confidentiality order on the file, the prosecutors do not give us information. Hear our voice. We want justice for my brother."

It is Fatma Özdemir speaking about the killing of her 22-year-old brother Ozan Ulu. According to Özdemir, her brother Ozan was pushed to crime by Musa S., whom he had met at the age of 13. He first used him in dealing drugs, then made him do drugs as well. Sister Özdemir alleges that Musa S. killed Ozan Ulu in the end, fearing that "he would apply to the police."

'Prosecutors said, 'Don't hire a lawyer"'

Speaking to bianet about the issue, Ozan Ulu's sister Fatma Özdemir says the following about the process leading up to his death:

"In October 2020, my brother went to İstanbul to stay with our other siblings for drug treatment. He stayed there for nearly 2 months.

"He came back from İstanbul to Siirt on December 2, 2020. He went to his fiance's house on the same day. They ate together. After he left her place, we could not hear from him again.

"Until 7.30 in the evening of the same day, his fiance texted with him or with a person whom she thought was him. Then the messages stopped.

"We reported my brother missing immediately. The prosecutors said that 'we should not hire a lawyer.' We didn't understand it, either. We hadn't heard from my brother for 17 days and we were worried.

"At the end of those 17 days, the deceased body of my brother was found somewhere near the Botan Dam in Siirt. According to the autopsy report, he was first stabbed, then thrown from a cliff.

'They don't give information'

"The process following this has been very complicated. There are two prosecutors dealing with the file. One of them is a prosecutor on duty, that prosecutor works very hard on the file. In fact, that prosecutor finds the evidence. The most important piece of evidence is related to the person named Musa S. He is someone involved in illegal business in this region. He is engaged in dealing drugs. He is how he is known in the region. It is alleged that he has connections to law enforcement officers.

"There are talks about camera footage. In this video recording, my brother is in the vehicle of Musa S. and it is seen that they, together with another person, are driving towards the Botan Dam. The identity, the face of the other person cannot be seen in the video. In other words, while Musa S. is going to the Botan Dam, he is going there with my brother and another person. However, he returns from there on his own.

Evidence: Safe key

"We have learned that this footage has been added to the file. However, we are told that 'there is a confidentiality order on the file.' The Prosecutor on Duty has handed over the file to the Siirt Prosecutor in the end. We have been unable to get information after this.

"When we ask for information, the 'confidentiality order' is cited as the reason. My brother was first pushed to crime, then killed. We don't know how to seek justice. We are awaiting help from everyone. We don't have a lawyer.

"Musa S. obviously killed my brother because a safety deposit key was found in the place where his deceased body was found.

"The safe has turned out to belong to Musa S. They have issued a detention warrant but he cannot be found. There is a search warrant against him 'over the death of Ozan'. Musa is said to go to Iraq now. How could a murder suspect leave the country so easily? We demand justice." (EMK/SD)