Turkish prosecutors on Friday sought the arrest of a doctor on suspicion of false testimony as part of a widening investigation into the 2016 death of former Transport Minister Arif Ahmet Denizolgun.
Dr. Nurettin Demirkol was detained and questioned before being referred to a criminal judgeship of peace with a request for his arrest, according to a referral document issued by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation centers on alleged inconsistencies between Demirkol’s testimony and records of emergency calls made following Denizolgun’s death on Sept. 7, 2016.
Prosecutors said Demirkol testified as a witness on Aug. 26 that he did not know who had reported the death or when the report was made. He also said he was not Denizolgun’s doctor and had not considered the death suspicious.
However, a transcript of calls to the 155 police emergency line showed that Demirkol himself reported the death, identified himself as the family’s doctor and described it as an “unexpected, suspicious sudden death,” according to prosecutors.
