Privates died after lieutenant punished one for sleeping on duty

The testimony of members of the army obtained by the daily reveal that the four soldiers died when an activated grenade given to them by Lt. Mehmet Tümer exploded. According to the records, Tümer wanted to punish Pvt. İbrahim Öztürk for falling asleep during his night watch. It had previously been claimed that the soldiers were killed when a hand grenade carried by one of the soldiers exploded accidentally as they were patrolling the rural area against the prospect of a terrorist attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Four other soldiers were injured in the blast. However, soldiers' testimonies point to a totally different cause behind the deaths.

Apparently, Sgt. Şakir Akçan discovered Pvt. Öztürk sleeping during his night watch. He took Öztürk's hand grenade while he was asleep and gave it to Lt. Tümer as evidence that the young private was sleeping on duty.

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. Yiğit 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.