Turkish police believe they have solved the 2006 murder of Mehrali Abbasov, a former police chief from Russia who settled in Turkey after his retirement and arrested an Azerbaijani suspect who confessed to the murder. Abbasov was murdered on Feb.12, 2006, and Rafel Miraliyev, who confessed to his killing, was arrested on Feb.12, 2016.
Miraliyev told police he was angry at the victim after he beat his brother while he was working as a police chief in Russia in 2000. "I never forgot this. Years later, I found out he was doing business in Turkey and was living in Istanbul. I contacted him and pretended to do business together. I told him about my brother when we met and he got angry. When he tried to hit me, I shot and killed him," he told police.
Abbasov's body was found in a secluded area in Bursa, a city south of Istanbul. The suspect told police he killed him in Istanbul and dumped the body in Bursa where he lived and was arrested by police. Police sources said Miraliyev had Azerbaijani citizenship.
