New Development in the Suspicious Death of Former Minister Denizolgun: Doctor Arrested

Remarkable new details emerged in the investigation carried out by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the suspicious death of former Minister of Transport Arif Ahmet Denizolgun.

Doctor Nurettin Demirkol, who was previously heard as a witness within the scope of the investigation, testified again as a suspect for the crime of "false testimony" after discrepancies were detected between his statements and 155 notification records, HTS data and other witness statements.

Demirkol, who was questioned at the Bakırköy 3rd Criminal Court of Peace, where he was referred with a request for arrest, defended himself as "I cannot clearly remember the events of 10 years ago." The court decided to arrest Demirkol, taking into account the HTS records, statements of other witnesses and law enforcement reports.

The most important contradiction in the file emerged over the 155 notifications made regarding the death of Arif Ahmet Denizolgun. In his first statement as a witness on August 26, 2026, Demirkol said that he did not know who called the medical and law enforcement teams, that Denizolgun was not a private doctor, and that he did not consider the death suspicious.

However, in the 155 Emergency Call resolution report prepared by the Riva Police Station, it was determined that the report was made over the phone used by Demirkol, the caller introduced himself as the family doctor and said that the death was suspicious.

The prosecutor's office asked Demirkol directly about this contradiction. Demirkol said, "I don't remember whether I called or someone else called on the day of the incident. Someone else may have called from my phone." made his defense.

The prosecutor's office also asked Demirkol why he did not remember whether he made the first report, even though he remembered meeting the police several times on the day of the incident.

Demirkol claimed that he had difficulty remembering even the patients he had recently cared for, and pointed out that approximately 10 years had passed since the incident.

The suspect also claimed that he "left his phone lying around" at the scene, and that one of the people coming and going to the farm might have made a report on his phone.

Another noteworthy topic in the investigation was Demirkol's statements regarding the doctor-patient relationship with Denizolgun. Demirkol had previously said, "I was not his personal doctor."

However, in the statements of the police and crime scene investigators who went to the scene, it was stated that there were records indicating that there was a person at the scene who introduced himself as a "family doctor".

When asked about this situation, Demirkol said, "I examined the victim 2-3 times. However, I do not know how to become a family doctor. I do not know what is meant by this expression." He defended as follows.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office evaluated that the location information in Demirkol's first statement did not match the HTS records. In his statement on August 26, Demirkol said that he was at his residence in Kısıklı on the day of the incident.

However, during the prosecutor's interrogation, he was informed that there was no base record in the Kısıklı region between 6 September 2016 at 18.12 and 8 September 2016 at 17.46. Demirkol responded to this by saying, "It is not possible for me not to have a base record for two days. I was at my residence that day. I don't know why my base records appeared this way." he replied.

The prosecutor's office also stated that Demirkol said that Denizolgun had already died when he went to the scene, but HTS records showed that he made consecutive calls to the phone registered to Hisar Hospital between 21.16 and 21.42 on September 7, 2016.

Asked about the reason for these meetings, Demirkol said, "I do not remember the meetings I had that day." he said.

Another name that stood out in the file was Hilmi Tuna Kuriş. In his first statement, Demirkol said that when he went to the farm, Murat Bayrak and a foreign national were present.

However, the crime scene investigation report in the investigation file includes a record that Hilmi Tuna Kuriş was also at the scene; In the HTS investigation, it was determined that Kuriş set foot in the area where the farm was located on September 7, 2016 at 20.56.

The prosecutor's office also determined that there were records of consecutive calls and searches between Demirkol and Hilmi Tuna Kuriş on the same night at 21.13 and onwards. When asked about these records, Demirkol said, "I don't remember whether I talked to Hilmi Tuna Kuriş that day. I don't know if he was there when I went." he said.

During the prosecutor's interrogation, Demirkol was also asked whether Ahmet Yum, Ahmet Gökçen and Alihan Kuriş came to the scene. In another witness statement in the file, it was stated that the forensic doctor who came to the scene said that there was a lawyer with the doctor and that Alihan Kuriş was at the scene.

He was also reminded that there was a recording of the telephone conversation between Demirkol and Ahmet Yum on the morning of September 8, 2016. Demirkol, on the other hand, argued that he did not remember whether these names came to the scene and why he met with Ahmet Yum.

During his interrogation in court, Demirkol repeated his statement to the prosecutor's office and said that nearly 10 years had passed since the incident and that it was not possible for him to remember the details. Demirkol stated that he has been a doctor for years and has seen many patients and deaths, and said, "I absolutely do not accept false statements. The problem is that I cannot clearly remember the incident 10 years ago." He defended as follows.

Demirkol also said that the statements of witnesses and suspects were taken under stress; He claimed that he had a migraine, could not take his medication, and had physical difficulties during his testimony.

Demirkol, who also gave details about Denizolgun's condition at the time he was found during the court interrogation, said that Denizolgun was dead when he reached the scene.

Demirkol stated that there was a liquid in the victim's mouth, but he could not distinguish whether it was blood or another liquid, and that he could not make a definitive assessment on this issue since he was not a forensic medicine expert.

He also said that the death was not new and that there were signs of swelling, stiffness and death bruises on the body.

Bakırköy 3rd Criminal Judgeship of Peace did not find the defense sufficient. In the court decision; He pointed out that there were contradictions between the HTS reports regarding the arrival and departure times of the people at the scene, the statements given by Demirkol as a witness, the statements of other witnesses and the law enforcement reports.

The judge decided that Nurettin Demirkol should be arrested for the crime of "false testimony", considering that there was concrete evidence in the file indicating a strong suspicion of crime and that judicial control measures would be insufficient.

The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office investigation continues to shed light on all aspects of Arif Ahmet Denizolgun's death.