The murder of a prominent lawyer at a restaurant in Istanbul is linked to a former underworld figure, according to police. Ali Yasak, also known as "Drej (Tall) Ali" is among four suspects wanted for the killing of Şafak Mahmutyazıcıoğlu early Thursday. Yasak, who has repeatedly denied his links to the Turkish mafia, was implicated in several cases linked to mob figures, including the infamous "Susurluk scandal" of the late 1990s.
Mahmutyazıcıoğlu, who is also a former executive of the Beşiktaş football club, was at a restaurant he owned in the city's Yeşilköy neighborhood at the time of the murder. His driver was also injured in the attack. Two suspects were detained in connection with the incident while K.Y., a relative of Ali Yasak and one of the suspects at large, is accused of firing the shots that killed Mahmutyazıcıoğlu.
Police sources quoted by media said that before the murder Mahmutyazıcıoğlu was mediating a property dispute when a brawl erupted between the two parties and K.Y. started firing. A man on one side of the dispute told police that G.K., with whom he was involved in a property sale, asked for extra money and when he refused, G.K. told him that he would send his "big brothers" to resolve the issue. He said he instructed G.K. to receive the money from Mahmutyazıcıoğlu before the murder took place.
Yasak, who spoke to Sözcü newspaper, denied the charges and claimed he was not wanted by police though he acknowledged that he was related to the other suspects. He told the daily that the police were looking for a nephew bearing the same name as him, while police did not comment on the issue. Yasak rose to prominence in the 1980s in the Turkish underworld and was first known to the public for the shooting of a prominent mobster. His name later came up in the Susurluk scandal, which revealed "a deep state" linked to bureaucrats, mobsters, intelligence officials and soldiers, and he was accused of links to this circle.
He was arrested in the early 2000s over a shootout in Istanbul and was charged with running a criminal gang. His name was also included in an indictment in a trial over meat smuggling. He was arrested again in 2008 in the notorious "Ergenekon" case but was later released.