İSTANBUL - While it was stated that a Kurdish young man was thrown into River Tisa in Serbia by human traffickers, Öztürk family could not get any results from any applications they have made.

 

Kurdish young man Naim Öztürk (27) from Muş, who went to the Subotica city of Serbia was allegedly thrown into the river by human traffickers and has been missing since then. The family of Öztürk who went to Serbia, told that their son was thrown into the river by the human traffickers and said that he was missing for 108 days now. 

 

Öztürk allagedly stayed at Casa Simon hotel in Subotica on November 21. Öztürk met with Mustafa Özgül who was introduced to him by Hanife Yücel, hoping to go to Germany in exchange for 15 thousand Euros.

 

ÖZTÜRK LEFT BEHIND AS 'GUARANTEE'

 

Özgül who told Öztürk to check into a hotel, introduced Öztürk to Yunus Akkoyun, who is affiliated with the human traffickers. Özgül who was also allegedly going to Germany told the Yunus Akkoyun he was going out to pay gang leader Hanife Yücel and left Naim Öztürk behind as 'guarantee'.

 

Özgül who told that his cousin was in Belgrad Airport and he was going there to get him, never came back to the hotel. Sending a message from Whatsapp to Özgül, Akkoyun told that Yücel called him, demanding his money back. Akkoyun sent a voice message to Özgül and said he was going to say that he had run away.

 

We have obtained the Whatsapp messages of Akkoyun to Özgül and Öztürk. It is understood that Öztürk who went missing was left behind at the hotel as collateral and Akkoyun referred to him as a 'hostage' in his messages to Özgül and that he would not let him go until Özgül returns. 

 

Öztürk also called his brother Giyasettin Öztürk that night. Brother Öztürk got in touch with Akkoyun who introduced himself as Yunus Emre and demanded 15 thousand Euros ransom.

 

THE CONSULATE DID NOT HELP

 

Brother Giyasettin Öztürk who could not get in touch with his brother since November 22, 2021, applied to the Turlish Consulate in Serbia. The Consulate told that they would intervene in the situation through Interpol if they filed a complaint.

 

ÖZTÜRK WAS THROWN INTO THE RIVER

 

Taken to Yücel's house, Öztürk was held there for a while. Yunus Akkoyun, affiliated with the gang that threw Öztürk into the river, told that Öztürk was thrown into River Tisa in his statement to the Federal Security Directorate in Germany, on January 7.

 

AKKOYUN LIED ABOUT THE NAME OF THE HOTEL

 

The fact that Akkoyun insisted that the name of the hotel they stayed at was Mirella despite the fact that the name of the hotel was stated as Casa Simon by the brother of Öztürk who went missing. Akkoyun said the following in his statement: "Süleyman Başıbüyük and Reşik Akyapı came to Yücel's house we were there. Affiliated with a gang involved in human trafficking, Akyapı and Başıbüyük beat Öztürk here, ducktaped his wrists and ankles from behind and his mouth was taped shut."

 

HE WAS THROWN INTO THE RIVER WHILE HIS HANDS AND FEET WERE TIED UP

 

Akkoyun who stated that Öztürk was forced into the trunk of a vehicle by Başıbüyük and Akyapı, and added that they arrived at the Tisa riverbank in 40 minutes. Sharing the information that Öztürk was carried out of the trunk and thrown into the river while his hands and feet were tied up, Akkoyun told that he was not working with Akyapı and Başıbüyük and tried to stop them but he was also threatened with death. Akkoyun also stated that he was taken to Hanife Yücel's house and held there for 14 days by force before he was finally able to flee and go to Germany.

 

MISSING PERSON REPORTS

 

Not being able to get in touch with his son, father Mehmet Ali Öztürk filed a missing person's report to Varto Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on November 25 and Giyasettin Öztürk filed a report to Interpol on November 26. Brother Öztürk then applied to Presidential Communication Center (CIMER) and the Belgrade Turkish Embassy 3 times, the last of which was on January 11th. However, it was learned that despite the applications, no investigation was launched to find Naim Öztürk.

 

Going to Serbia after his brother went missing, Giyasettin Öztürk exposed the gang leader Yücel and other gang members. The voice records of the phonecall between Yücel, Akkoyun and Özgül confirms that Öztürk was thrown into the river. The gang members blame eachother in the voice records.

 

'I WILL TELL EVERYTHING IF A LAW SUIT IS FILED' 

 

Akkoyun who is currently in Germany whom we spoke to on the phone told that he was not working with Yücel or other gang members and he was in Subotica to get to Germany. Akkoyun told that Yücel promised to send him to Germany, however when his money turned out to be short for it, his passage to Germany was delayed. We asked Akkoyun about him saying that he was planning to hold Öztürk hostage in the phonecall. He said he was angry and he was joking. Akkoyun told that no law suits were filed yet and he would tell everything if a lawsuit was to be filed.

 

YÜCEL DID NOT CONFIRM OR DENY THE ALLEGATIONS

 

Gang leader Hanife Yücel whom we called on the phone, told that he was not going to speak about Naim Öztürk and he hung up on us. Süleyman Başıbüyük who according to Akkoyun, was the person who threw Öztürk in the river also refused to speak and refuted the allegations. It was also stated that Reşit Akyapı was arrested at the airport because he was had bullets on him.

 

THEY CONTINUE HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

Stating that his brother was forced into dissapperance by these people, Giyasettin Öztürk said: "Everything happened within a week. I spoke to Yunus Akkoyun 3 times. He asked for ransom. He hung up on me twice.I begged him not to harm my brother but they didn't listen. They threw my brother into the river because of Özgül. I am here in Serbia for two months know. I found them one by one. I learned their real names. I filed complaints here. I hired a lawyer but he is not helping. The process is really slow."

 

A COMPANY LAUNCHED FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

Stating that no investigation has been launched yet to find his brother, Öztürk said the Serbian government and the embassy did not help him.  Öztürk also told that Başıbüyük and Yücek was still living is Serbia and still trafficking people who want to go to Europe from Turkey. Öztürk said Başıbüyük launched a company called Amed Group and has been sending invitations to people in Turkey through this company and trafficked those people to Serbia.

 

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan