Questions remain about the murder of journalist, documentary filmmaker, and environmental activist Hakan Tosun, who was beaten to death by two men in Esenyurt. One of the main questions is whether the attack on Tosun, who documented environmental destruction driven by government and corporate greed, was an organized act. Speaking to ANF, a shopkeeper from Mehmet Akif Ersoy neighborhood, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the father of one of the two suspects detained for the killing, had said about Tosun: “We never liked him anyway. He was a provocateur during the Gezi protests. He also caused a lot of trouble during the opening of the gold mine in Ağrı.”
Father of one of the attackers is an MHP member
A strange conversation reportedly took place between a shopkeeper and the father of one of the murder suspects, following the killing of journalist Hakan Tosun, who was beaten to death in Esenyurt’s Mehmet Akif Ersoy neighborhood (formerly Mehter Çeşme) on the night between10 and 11 October. The two attackers, an 18-year-old and a 24-year-old, were not detained immediately but were instead summoned to the Esenyurt Mevlana Police Station for testimony and hastily arrested out of public view. Meanwhile, the 18-year-old suspect’s father, took the CCTV footage that most clearly captured the attack from a local shopkeeper, raising outrage and questions about whom this family is and why they appear to be protected. The same shopkeeper said that the man, who owns an electrical shop and is known in the neighborhood, is an MHP member and has good connections with the police.
Recalling a conversation after the attack, the shopkeeper said: “The man, referring to the murdered journalist Hakan Tosun, told me, ‘This is his second time coming to the Mehter Çeşme neighborhood. His mother came here 10 days ago too.’ When I asked how he knew that, he said, ‘We can access the CCTV and HTS (phone tracking) records.’ He also said that it wasn’t his son but the BMW driver who killed Hakan Tosun, and that the main incident happened in a side street.”
The shopkeeper said that the man made racist remarks about Hakan Tosun: “He said that Tosun wasn’t a Muslim and added, ‘We never liked him anyway. He wasn’t a journalist, he was a provocateur. He was provoking people during the Gezi protests. There are 500 others like him. He also caused a lot of trouble during the opening of the gold mine in Ağrı. His goal was to defame the state.’ When we asked him why he deleted the security footage, the police called him for questioning, so he left without answering.”
All this cannot be a coincidence
The shopkeeper suggested there is a strong possibility the attack was organized, noting that the suspect, who drove the BMW, did not live in Esenyurt and that his presence in the neighborhood that day was suspicious. He also pointed out that a witness giving a statement after the attack, is known locally as a drug dealer. “All these developments can’t be a coincidence,” the shopkeeper added.