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Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that four previously unsolved murder cases in Konya, Kahramanmaraş, Mersin and Hatay have been reopened and resolved through renewed investigations, with 26 suspects detained and another found to be in a penal institution.

The files were re-examined under the coordination of the Directorate for Investigating Unsolved Crimes at the Ministry, together with public prosecutor's offices and law enforcement units, using criminal examinations, DNA analysis, communication records and witness statements.

Cases reopened across four provinces

Gürlek said in a post on his social media account that the files had been reviewed again by the relevant directorate, prosecutors and police and gendarmerie units. Evidence was reassessed in the light of forensic work, DNA tests, communication logs and witness testimony.

"We will bring the perpetrators who hid behind the years before justice. We have taken 75 murders in 68 files out of the unsolved category," Gürlek said. He thanked the public prosecutor's offices, police and gendarmerie units and the public officials who took part, and said families awaiting justice would not be left alone and the work would continue.

Konya: 2005 killing on the Ankara road solved

Ömer Faruk Akıllı was found shot in the head on the Konya-Ankara highway in 2005. Investigators obtained findings suggesting Akıllı may have been detained against their will after a dispute at a hotel in Bursa where the victim worked, Gürlek said.

Witness statements and communication records were reviewed again. Simultaneous operations led to the detention of seven suspects, five of whom were arrested on charges of premeditated murder, while judicial control measures were imposed on the remaining two.

Kahramanmaraş: Newborn's death investigated

A file concerning a newborn baby whose body was found on empty land in Kahramanmaraş's Onikişubat district in 2010 was also taken up again. Investigators identified people who had pregnancy information in hospital records but no birth record, and evaluated those findings together with witness statements.

Two suspects were detained. One of them stated that the baby was left on empty land after the birth. One suspect was arrested and the other was placed under judicial control.

Mersin and Hatay files re-examined

Gürlek said the file on Bahaddin Sefer, whose body was found in 2007 inside a refrigerator sealed with concrete in the yard of a house in Mersin, was reviewed again. Based on information that Sefer was last seen around 2001, statements were taken from 32 people in different provinces. Six suspects were detained in simultaneous operations based in Mersin and carried out across six provinces.

In the case of İbrahim Akgöl, who was stabbed to death on the shore in Hatay's Samandağ district in 2006, HTS records and witness statements were examined. Information was obtained from 52 people across 16 provinces, 10 of whom were in penal institutions. In an operation targeting 12 suspects, 11 were detained and the remaining suspect was found to be in a penal institution.

Key takeaways

• Four unsolved murders in Konya, Kahramanmaraş, Mersin and Hatay have been resolved, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said.
• 26 suspects were detained and one further suspect was found to be in a penal institution.
• Evidence was reassessed using forensic examinations, DNA analysis, communication logs and witness statements.
• Authorities say 75 murders in 68 files have been cleared of the unsolved status so far.