Ex-con’s revenge behind explosion in Kadıköy

ISTANBUL

The police have found out that the motive behind the Kadıköy explosion, in which three people died, was an ex-convict’s attempted revenge to kill his own brother, who reported him for a murder he committed.

According to the details of the investigation file, 63-year-old Mustafa Karahan, who died in the explosion in Kadıköy, caused the tragic incident as he manufactured bombs in his house to use them to kill his own brother.

The underlying reason why Karahan wanted to kill his brother dates back to the incident of July 27, 1998, when four people attacked a Turkish restaurant named Safari in Switzerland’s capital Bern with long-barreled weapons.

Four people, comprising the owner, waiter, chef and customer of the restaurant, lost their lives. The “Safari Massacre,” one of the bloodiest attacks in the country’s history, remained relevant for a long time.

As a result of the comprehensive investigation, the Swiss police identified Karahan as one of the attackers.

After serving seven years in prison in Türkiye for crimes related to radical leftist organizations, Karahan illegally entered Switzerland in 1989.

As Karahan fled to Türkiye after the attack, the Swiss police did not detain him and issued an international arrest warrant.

In 2012, the perpetrator was arrested in Türkiye upon his brother’s report. Though the court sentenced Karahan to life imprisonment, he was released from prison in 2019 with the amnesty law.

Karahan accumulated explosive substances in fireworks to produce bombs as part of a plan to kill his brother.

While Karahan was discharging the gunpowder, a fire broke out followed by a blast as one of the fuses accidentally ignited.

Uzbek Anvarjon Kadirov, who got injured in the explosion, worked with Karahan as an electrician and resided in the same building.

While Kadirov was able to run away from the building, his 10-year-old daughter and 68-year-old father lost their lives.