Turkish prosecutors on Wednesday expanded an investigation into the 2016 death of former Transport Minister Arif Ahmet Denizolgun after a new forensic expert report classified the case as a “suspicious death” and said homicide could not be scientifically ruled out, according to judicial sources.
The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating Alihan Kuriş and other suspects initially on suspicion of homicide, after a forensic expert reviewed video footage and photographs from Denizolgun’s autopsy, the sources said.
Denizolgun’s death had been officially attributed to natural causes linked to a brain hemorrhage following an autopsy in 2016. The new expert report, dated Aug. 25, questioned whether there was sufficient objective medical evidence to reach that conclusion.
The report identified four separate areas of bruising extending from beneath the right breast toward the center of Denizolgun’s chest. Bleeding was also observed in tissue beneath the bruises, which the expert assessed as indicating that the injuries occurred before death.
According to the report, the location and dimensions of the bruises could be consistent with pressure being applied to Denizolgun’s chest while his mouth and nose were covered, potentially causing suffocation.
