Prison officer 'complicit in death of Turkish murderer'

ANKARA

A prison officer helped smuggle in a gun used to kill one of Turkey’s most notorious murderers, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Wednesday.

Ahmet Suphi Altindoken, 27, died after being shot in Kurkculer Cezaevi prison in southern Turkey by a fellow inmate on Monday.

He was convicted last year of the gruesome murder and attempted rape of 20-year-old student Ozgecan Aslan, whose handless, burned body was discovered two days after she went missing in Mersin province. The crime sparked nationwide anger and protests.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Bozdag said Altindoken’s attackers had “help inside and outside” the prison in Adana province.

“Evidence has been found of the smuggling of the gun by an officer there and now he has been detained,” the minister told reporters in capital Ankara.

Bozdag added that others suspected of involvement had also been arrested. “The investigation is underway,” he said. He said two senior prison wardens and three prison officers had been suspended from duty.

Monday’s attack also saw Altindoken’s father Necmettin, who was jailed as an accomplice to the murder, receive a gunshot wound. His life is not thought to be in danger.

Bozdag said the killing was unacceptable. “This is really a security weakness,” he said. “Therefore, whoever has neglect, fault and intention in this issue will face every kind of legal and administrative investigation.”

Aslan’s murder in February last year served as a focal point for protests over violence against women.