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Gendarmerie officer latest in series of military brass suicides
The lieutenant apparently shot himself in the head at around 8 a.m. Önder’s remains were sent to the Bursa Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) for an autopsy. The lieutenant was married and had two daughters.
Sources said the reason behind Önder’s suicide could have been family problems. Önder’s friends described the late lieutenant as a person much loved by his friends. Selim Kara, who owns a grocery store in Ezine, said Önder was a very friendly person. “When I came to open my store early in the morning, I saw ambulances outside the division. A gendarmerie officer said Lt. Önder had committed suicide. I was shocked. The lieutenant used to greet me every morning. He was a very kind person. I cannot understand why he killed himself,” he noted.
Cengiz Karabulut, Ezine district governor, also said Önder was a very cheerful person. “There is no definite information about the cause his death. We are very shocked,” he stated.
The lieutenant will be buried in his hometown of Kayseri after an autopsy.
Önder’s suicide is the latest in a long list of alleged suicides by members of military in the recent past. On Sunday Lt. Col. Ali Tatar was found dead in his İstanbul home. Tatar reportedly shot himself in the head. The lieutenant colonel’s alleged suicide was found to be suspicious, particularly due to his suspected links to Ergenekon, a shady network accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
He had been arrested due to suspected links to a plot to assassinate admirals at the Naval Forces Command but was released last Wednesday upon an appeal by his lawyer. An İstanbul court issued another arrest warrant for Tatar shortly after his release.
A retired colonel, Belgütay Varımlı, reportedly killed himself by jumping off the balcony of his apartment in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district on Nov. 20. Varımlı’s suicide aroused suspicion because he was known to be a devout Muslim and would not have condoned the idea of killing oneself since suicide is one of the biggest sins in Islam.
The ambiguity surrounding the recent suicides of retired navy Col. Tanju Ünal, navy Capt. Olgun Ural and navy Lt. Col. Nursal Gedik has not yet been dispelled, either.
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