Four soldiers were killed in the eastern province of Elazýð on Aug. 17 after a lieutenant gave one of the privates a hand grenade whose pin he had pulled out to punish him for sleeping during his night watch.
Early the next day, Lt. Tümer called Öztürk to ask where his hand grenade was. When Öztürk could not find his grenade, the lieutenant showed him the explosive, saying it was taken by Sgt. Akçan when he was sleeping during his night watch. The lieutenant then pulled out the pin of the grenade and gave it to Öztürk, saying he would not die if he held the primer of the explosive tightly.
“Öztürk begged the lieutenant to give him back the pin. He said he was just 25 years old and had 75 days left to complete his military service. ‘You will kill me,´ he told Lt. Tümer,” Sgt. Yiðit Acar stated during his testimony.
Acar also stated that Tümer told noncommissioned officers in the military facility that he had given Öztürk a live hand grenade to teach him a good lesson.
Sgt. Akçan told military prosecutors that the explosion occurred about 15 or 20 minutes after Lt. Tümer pulled the pin out of the grenade and gave it to the private. “While I was supervising soldiers during the night watch, I saw Öztürk sleeping. I took his hand grenade and gave it to Lt. Tümer. The lieutenant called Öztürk up and gave him the activated grenade. He told him to wait till he gave back the pin. Fifteen or 20 minutes later, the explosion took place,” the sergeant stated.
Pvt. Recep Koyuncu claimed that Öztürk asked the lieutenant several times to return the pin, saying: “Lt. Tümer told Öztürk to return to his position and wait for him. A few minutes later, Öztürk asked the lieutenant for the pin. Lt. Tümer declined his request. The blast occurred moments after.”
During his testimony, Lt. Tümer admitted giving a live hand grenade to Öztürk. “Öztürk asked me to give him the pin. I told him to return to his position and that I would place the pin into the grenade soon. It was around 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. I don´t remember exactly when. We heard an explosion. When I turned back, I saw Öztürk falling face down,” stated the lieutenant. He also claimed that he punished the private in line with the military´s training procedures.
Öztürk was reportedly asking his friends for a pin when the hand grenade exploded. The four fallen soldiers were buried on Aug. 18.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-185257-privates-died-after-lieutenant-punished-one-for-sleeping-on-duty.html
This is nothing short of a barbaric murder and if I was the parent of that young man I would want blood spilled. This makes me so angry, words fail me.
