“Cut into pieces with a knife.” Consulate provides information on the killing of Durdona’s friend

Earlier, it was reported that the body of Uzbek citizen Durdona Hakimova was found in a garbage container by a waste collector in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey. Within the framework of the same case, it was also confirmed that another Uzbek woman, Sayyora Ergashaliyeva, was killed and dismembered in the Ümraniye residence where the murder took place. This was reported by the Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Istanbul.

According to preliminary information obtained from Turkish law enforcement authorities, following the incident related to Durdona Hakimova’s death, it was confirmed that Sayyora Ergashaliyeva, born in 1994 in Namangan region and previously reported missing, had also died.

It was reported that during the investigation it was established that the late Sayyora Ergashaliyeva was a close friend of Durdona Hakimova. Investigators also noted that the suspects refused to testify regarding Ergashaliyeva.

According to initial information, on January 22 of this year the victims and the suspects had lunch together at a restaurant in Istanbul’s Fatih district. During the meeting, a dispute arose between Ergashaliyeva and G.K. The conflict is believed to have been related to Ergashaliyeva’s intention to return to Uzbekistan.

On January 23, T.D. and G.K. allegedly conspired and first killed Ergashaliyeva with a knife, dismembered her body, and disposed of the remains in garbage containers in the Fatih district. On January 24, the perpetrators sent an SMS message to Hakimova from Ergashaliyeva’s phone to lure her to a meeting. They then allegedly stabbed her to death, dismembered the body, and disposed of the remains in garbage containers in the Şişli district.

It was noted that Ergashaliyeva’s body has been found, but it has not yet been delivered to the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute.

The Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Istanbul has taken the situation under constant monitoring and is working in close cooperation with Turkish law enforcement authorities.

The investigation is ongoing. The suspects have been placed in pre-trial detention, have confessed, and the case files have been submitted to the court.

Brutal murder

On the evening of January 24, a horrific incident occurred in the Duatepe neighborhood of Istanbul’s Şişli district. At around 19:40 local time, a man named Okan, who collects recyclable waste and paper in the area, noticed a body wrapped in sheets and bags while searching a garbage container in front of building No. 25 on Kuyulubog Street. He went to a police station to report what he had seen.

According to Okan, while searching the container he saw a black bag. When he tore it open, he noticed blood and a human body and realized that the body was still warm. He then went to the Feriköy police station to report the incident. Police officers arrived at the scene and saw the body inside the container. He returned to the scene together with the police. During the initial inspection, the body was found to be decapitated and believed to belong to a woman.

During the investigation conducted by homicide detectives, testimony was obtained from another witness. The witness stated that at around 19:00 he had come to the street to visit his mother and saw two bearded men waiting with a suitcase near the garbage container.

Surveillance camera footage was also obtained showing the suspects bringing the body in a suitcase and dumping it. The footage shows two individuals approaching the container carrying a suitcase.

During their work at the scene, detectives determined that the body found in the container was missing the head and legs. The suitcase believed to have been used to transport the remains was later found in another garbage area on Bozkurt Street several blocks away.

To preserve the crime scene, the body was not removed from the container, and a full on-site assessment of the remains was not conducted. The area was secured, and both the Homicide Unit and the Crime Scene Investigation Unit were notified, launching a large-scale investigation.

As a result of checks carried out by the Public Security Department, the woman’s identity was established through fingerprints. She was identified as Uzbek citizen Durdona Hakimova. During the examination, she was found to be wearing a black jacket, a black long-sleeved sweatshirt, black underwear, and was wrapped in a white sheet. Her identity was confirmed through fingerprint analysis.

Based on camera footage and witness testimony, two bearded men wearing dark clothing were seen approaching the garbage container with a light-colored suitcase and later leaving the area on foot with the suitcase. The suspects were also found to have discarded the suitcase on nearby Bozkurt Street.

Istanbul police detained two murder suspects at Istanbul Airport as they attempted to flee to Georgia. Both were identified as Uzbek citizens. Within hours, the suspects were apprehended by the Intelligence and Homicide units. One suspect was identified as the direct perpetrator of the murder, while the other was found to have assisted.

The main suspect, D.T., gave a statement.

“We met Durdona Hakimova on the day of the incident and started a relationship. We had an argument and I stabbed her. Then my friend and I dismembered the body. We packed the body parts separately and placed them in a suitcase. We then took a commercial taxi to the Şişli district and disposed of the remains in various garbage containers,” he said.

Footage also captured the moment the suspects were detained while attempting to flee from the airport. The taxi driver who transported the suspects was also detained, bringing the total number of people arrested in connection with the case to three.

Following the incident, on January 26 women held protests in Ankara and Istanbul against femicide and impunity.

E’zoza Olimova