Man whose suicide was prevented by Erdoğan commits murder

Çetin Aydın – İSTANBUL

A man whose attempted suicide was prevented by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in December 2015 killed a man who was allegedly in a relationship with his wife on Oct. 2 in Istanbul.

The incident occurred in the Sultangazi district of the city early on Oct. 2, when locals informed fire crews after seeing smoke rising from a residential building.

After police arrived at the scene to investigate they found a dead body in the apartment.

Police have identified the victim as Celal Doğancık, who was working as a DJ in entertainment venues around Istanbul. Investigators found signs indicating that he was choked to death before the apartment was set alight.

The main suspect in the murder is Vezir Çatraş, who was in 2015 prevented from committing suicide on the Bosphorus Bridge by President Erdoğan.

Çatraş and two of his acquaintances were detained by police and he confessed to the killing during his testimony, saying the victim was having an affair with his wife.

His wife had reportedly separated from him in April 2016, leaving him behind with two children.

Back on Dec. 25, 2015, Çatraş was talked down from a suicide attempt by the Turkish president, who was crossing the bridge at the time.

He subsequently said he had been suffering with financial difficulties and was hired to work in a public institution upon the instruction of Erdoğan after the incident.