04.02.2026 14:33
In the Bodrum district of Muğla, as a result of a boat carrying irregular migrants sinking, the bodies of 18 individuals, including one suspected organizer, were recovered, and it is believed that two missing persons have also lost their lives. In this incident, 11 individuals have been arrested, and life sentences of 20 times each are being sought for 15 defendants on the charge of 'causing death with probable intent.'
In the Bodrum district of Muğla, as a result of the sinking of a boat carrying illegal immigrants, the bodies of 18 people, including one suspected organizer, were recovered, and it is believed that two missing individuals also lost their lives. A lawsuit was filed against 15 defendants, 11 of whom are in custody, for the crime of 'causing death with probable intent' with a request for 20 aggravated life sentences each, and for the crime of 'facilitating the exit of a Turkish citizen or foreigner abroad' with a request for up to 8 years in prison. The indictment noted that 22 people were boarded onto a boat with a malfunctioning engine designed for 5 people.
The person who called the Muğla 112 Emergency Call Center at 01:06 on October 24, 2025, stated that they were in the rocky area along the coast at the Ada Burnu location in the Ortakent neighborhood of Bodrum and requested help. The teams dispatched to the area rescued an Afghan illegal immigrant who had made the call for help. In his statement, the Afghan immigrant recounted that they had set out to sea from the Bodrum Bitez area in an inflatable boat, and about 10 minutes later, the boat began to take on water and sank, and he managed to reach the shore after swimming for about 6 hours. In the search and rescue operations conducted in the area, the lifeless bodies of 17 individuals, including one human smuggler and 17 illegal immigrants, were recovered. Two illegal immigrants were rescued alive by swimming.
Meanwhile, 15 suspects related to the incident were detained. After the procedures, 11 of the suspects sent to the courthouse were arrested, while 4 were released under judicial control.
A 27-PAGE INDICTMENT WAS WRITTEN
Following the incident, a 27-page indictment was prepared by the Bodrum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. In the indictment, the detained defendants Akif Ç., Atilla B., Cemal Ç., Fadıl E., Fırat A., Gökhan Y., Mustafa Duğan E., Ömer Ç., Serdar T., Sühyettin Y., Zafer Ş., along with the defendants tried without detention Berke Ü., Halil U., Osman Sedat D., and Eyüp G. were charged with 'causing death with probable intent' for 20 counts of aggravated life sentences and for 'facilitating the exit of a Turkish citizen or foreigner abroad' with a request for up to 8 years in prison.
The indictment stated that 18 illegal immigrants, including children, lost their lives in the incident involving human smuggler Özkan Kerpiç. In the statement of the surviving individual Abdullah Kohestani, he indicated that his friend Soroush Jamali, who boarded the boat with him, was not among the deceased, and Masihullah Painda, who said that 5 members of his family came to Bodrum to escape, also stated in his testimony that his brother Mohammed Elyas Painda was not found among the bodies. The indictment noted that due to the fact that the bodies of Painda and Jamali had not been found until this time, it was assessed that they had lost their lives.
Additionally, it was stated that Sayed Muslim Azimi was also among the survivors of the incident, along with Kohestani.
THEY MONITORED THE BOAT FROM THE HILLS
The indictment mentioned that suspects Akif Ç., Fadıl E., and Serdar T. launched a boat named GNL into the sea from the shore on October 23, 2025, and that Serdar T. used the boat to go to Gümbet Harbor. Other suspects Sühyettin Y. and Fırat A. also went to Gümbet Harbor with Özkan Kerpiç, the captain of the boat, where they had a meeting with the suspects on the boat. The indictment included that suspects Serdar T. and the captain Özkan Kerpiç had their last meeting with the suspicious Fadıl E. in the area, then boarded the boat and went to Bitez Aquarium Bay, where they boarded the migrants onto the boat and set off.
After traveling for about 10 minutes, the boat's engine broke down and began to take on water, and it was noted in the indictment that 4-5 people, including captain Kerpiç and the survivors Abdullah Kohestani and Sayed Muslim Azimi, jumped into the sea. Kohestani and Azimi swam for a long time to survive, during which time the suspects Fadıl E., Sühyettin Y., and Fırat A. observed the situation of the boat from the dominating hills in the area, and after seeing it sink, they left the scene.
The indictment emphasized that the suspects, in a state of unity of thought and action, attempted to smuggle migrants to Greece by boarding a total of 22 people, including captain Kerpiç, onto the GNL boat, which could only accommodate a maximum of 5 people. It was stated that there was no equipment on the boat to ensure passenger safety, such as life jackets, and that the boat's engine was also malfunctioning, thus the suspects caused the deaths of a total of 20 people by boarding migrants well above the boat's capacity, without taking any precautions for passenger safety. It was expressed that it was necessary to accept that the suspects foresaw the possibility of the boat sinking and the engine malfunctioning, and despite this foresight and the potential situation, they acted with the intent of 'whatever happens' and carried out the act.
THEY PROVIDED ACCOMMODATION IN A HOTEL
The indictment stated that suspects Osman Sedat D., Berke Ü., Halil U., and Eyüp G. arranged rooms in their hotels for migrants who came to Bodrum to escape abroad, did not register them in the hotel system, and participated in the act by enabling them to hide until the escape stage by obstructing the checks to be conducted by law enforcement officers.
Furthermore, it was noted in the indictment that the suspects, who denied the accusations, claimed that they had no connection to the human smuggling incident. The indictment was accepted by the Bodrum 2nd High Criminal Court. The trial of the 15 defendants, 11 of whom are in custody, will begin on April 27.