New evidence surfaces in murder of Turkish Cypriot casino owner

LEFKOŞA

New striking details continue to be revealed in the assassination of Turkish Cypriot casino owner Halil Falyalı as the judicial process is ongoing both in Turkey and in the northern part of the Mediterranean island where the murder occurred.

At a hearing held in Lefkoşa (Nicosia) on Feb. 16, Murat Bayram, the Turkish Cypriot police inspector who has been carrying out the investigation in cooperation with the Turkish police, has presented new shreds of evidence that could disperse the fog behind the incident to the court.

According to the information provided by Bayram, the perpetrators of the Falyalı murder entered Turkish Cyprus illegally via a boat departing from Turkey’s Mediterranean province of Antalya’s Alanya district.

The police officer also claimed that Mustafa Söylemez, who is believed to be involved in the crime, arrived in the country on a scheduled flight that landed at Ercan Airport near Lefkoşa.

Söylemez allegedly threw his coat and shoes into a streambed in the Doğanköy (Thermeia) village of Girne (Kyrenia), about five kilometers from the crime scene, while fleeing after the attack.

According to the testimonies of suspects Veysel Sarı and Musa Çiçek, who are believed to be hitmen by the Turkish Cypriot police, two Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol and pieces of clothing allegedly belonging to Söylemez were found in the streambed.

The Turkish Cypriot police sent the coats and shoes to Ankara for a detailed examination.

Meanwhile, the pistol that was seized under a bathtub in the house of Çiçek and Sarı was used in the injury of Ali Maytalman, a former member of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), in Ankara in 2014.

Falyalı was shot dead in a drive-by shooting with long-barreled weapons at the entrance to Çatalköy town of Girne on Feb. 8.