New decision in the cafe attack case in Izmit: 1 more arrest

The incident took place in a cafe in Izmit on the first day of Eid al-Fitr (March 20, 2026). Meryem Yıldırım (39) and her son Talha Kaan İzal (21) went to the place to spend time.

Allegedly, Yıldırım, who saw a person being beaten in front of the cafe, called him inside to help this person. Meanwhile, the group that attacked him entered the cafe and started swearing. A fight broke out after Talha Kaan Izal warned the group, "There are women here, do not swear." The mother and her son were attacked and beaten. Many fractures were detected on Meryem Yıldırım's face and cracks were detected in Talha Kaan's ribs. Mother and son were discharged after hospital treatment. While Kürşat G. was arrested within the scope of the investigation, Emrah G. and Sema K. were released on condition of judicial control.

"HE SAID, KILL THIS WOMAN"

The second hearing of the case regarding the incident continued to be heard at the 14th Criminal Court of First Instance. The detained defendant Kürşat G., the unarrested defendants Emrah G., Sema K., the complainant Meryem Yıldırım and the party lawyers attended the hearing. The defendants did not accept the accusations, saying that they repeated their previous defense, and Kürşat G. asked for his release. Complainant Meryem Yıldırım said that she had a complaint against the defendants. D.P., friend of Meryem Yıldırım, who was heard as a witness, said, "Meryem came to me on the date of the incident and said, 'Save us, they are beating my son and me.' Sema hit Meryem's face on the ground and said, 'Kill this woman.' While waiting for the ambulance, Meryem said that Sema threw an ashtray and a glass at her face."

THE NUMBER OF DETAINEES INCREASED TO 2

The court decided to arrest Sema K., considering that there was concrete evidence showing a strong suspicion of a crime, that the evidence had been obscured, or that there was a suspicion of escape, that the upper limit of the penalty for the crime and the possible punishment would be insufficient, and that judicial control would be insufficient at this stage. It was decided to continue the current situation of the detained defendant Kürşat G and the unarrested defendant Emrah G and to postpone the hearing.