Kurdish businessman abducted in Istanbul, raising suspects about "deep state"
A Kurdish businessman living in Germany and part owner of a restaurant in Istanbul's Taksim district disappeared last week after arriving in Istanbul, raising suspicions about "deep state involvement" and recalling the days of the 1990s in Turkey when Kurdish businessmen were kidnapped and killed by people linked to Turkish intelligence.
They could get no news of Zeki Oguz since he arrived Turkey last week, his family said, filing a missing report in a police station in Istanbul.
Security camera footage from nearby markets shows Oguz being forcibly taken into a vehicle by three people after leaving a market where he had just shopped.
Abdurrahman Karabulut, a lawyer and a relative of the kidnapped businessman, claimed that Oguz was abducted by "deep state forces." Karabulut shared security camera footage of the moment Oguz was kidnapped on his Twitter account.
Kürt işadamı olan Alman vatandaşı Zeki Oğuz on gün önce İstanbul'da kaçırıldı.
— Av.Abdurrahman Karabulut (@avkrblt) March 31, 2023
Kayınbabamın halasının oğlu olan Zeki Oğuz'dan hâlâ haber alamıyoruz.
Edindiğimiz bilgilere göre derin devlet güçleri tarafından tutulduğuna yönelik. pic.twitter.com/Oki1KEbmUX
"Zeki Oguz, a Kurdish businessman and German citizen, was kidnapped in Istanbul ten days ago. He is my cousin's husband, and we still haven't heard from him. We have received information that he is being held by deep state forces," Karabulut said in his tweet.
Meanwhile, HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) deputy Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu held a press conference in the parliament about the incident. "I am starting with a kidnapping incident. In the middle of Istanbul's Eyupsultan district, a Kurdish businessman named Zeki Oguz was kidnapped while leaving a market, accompanied by three vehicles and nine people. His family has not heard from him since March 21," Gergerlioglu said.
Gergerlioglu mentioned that the kidnapping and disappearance incidents that started with the state of emergency reminded of the practices of the 1990s. "In the last 6.5 years, many forced disappearances have been revealed. We have followed and reported on at least 35 long-term abduction incidents," he added.
The authorities have not yet made any official statements about Oguz's disappearance.
