Suspect held over death of Anadolu Agency editor: Police

By Sertac Bulur and Baris Kilic

ANKARA (AA) – Police in Ankara have detained one suspect in connection with the death earlier this month of Ossama Awad Elshamy, who had worked as an editor for Anadolu Agency’s English-language news service.

On Monday, members of the Ankara Police Department’s homicide unit brought the suspect, Hasan Anil Y., 25 years old, to the Ankara courthouse.

Public Prosecutor Tansel Unal referred the suspect to the court to face possible charges of attempted murder.

Court Judge Sezer Soylemez called for the suspect to be remanded in custody pending further investigation.

Elshamy, 31, was hospitalized -- unconscious -- on the evening of June 5 after having sustained a serious head injury that eventually proved fatal.

He never regained consciousness, succumbing to the injury nine days later at Ankara’s Numune Hospital.

Police sources told Anadolu Agency that a special investigation team had examined footage from local CCTV cameras, MOBESE (mobile electronic system integration) cameras, and all automated license-plate recognition system cameras along the route from Yenimahalle State Hospital - where Elshamy was first found unconscious - and his home.

The team also heard testimony from an eyewitness who reported seeing a grey-colored car near the area in which Elshamy was found - the left rear door of which, he said, was open - on the evening of June 5.

The eyewitness also reported seeing the car drive off with Ossama’s prone body lying on the ground nearby.

Investigators tried to locate the car described by the eyewitness, the image of which was captured on CCTV footage, and also examined HTS (Historical Traffic Search) records in an effort to narrow the search.

On Monday, police detained the suspect, the owner of a car who matched the description and who later confessed to involvement in Elshamy’s death.

According to the suspect’s testimony, he had been in the same car with a friend -- who remains at large -- who had been driving the car at the time.

The police said the suspect had told his interrogators that they were "drunk and on drugs" at the time of the incident.

He also reportedly said that the pair had seen Elshamy walking nearby while arguing over how to find money for drugs.

According to testimony the suspect gave to police, they then offered Elshamy a lift to the mosque to which he had been walking to perform Ramadan evening prayers.

The suspect then told police that he and his friend had continued arguing in the car, at which point, he said, the latter had produced a gun.

In his testimony, the suspect then claimed Elshamy jumped from the car in an effort to escape.

Police say they are now trying to find the second suspect, who, they say, has been identified by name.