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A 34-year-old woman was brutally murdered by her ex-husband in a shocking public execution during her morning commute in Istanbul's Sisli district on Monday, police officials confirmed.
Bahar Aksu was walking to work around 6:30 a.m. on Kazim Orbay Street when she became the target of a premeditated ambush. Her ex-husband, Rustem Elibol, accompanied by three male accomplices, attempted to force her into their vehicle as she made her way to her workplace, according to police reports.
When Aksu realized what was happening, she resisted fiercely, refusing to enter the vehicle despite being outnumbered four to one. Her screams for help echoed through the normally quiet morning streets of the neighborhood. Witnesses reported hearing a woman's desperate cries before gunshots shattered the morning calm.
As Aksu continued to resist the abduction attempt, Elibol pulled out a firearm and opened fire, shooting her five to six times in rapid succession. After she fell to the ground, witnesses reported that he approached and fired two additional shots to her head at close range, ensuring the fatal outcome.
Following the shooting, Elibol and his three accomplices immediately fled the scene in the same vehicle they had planned to use for the abduction. Local residents, hearing the gunshots and screams, promptly alerted authorities.
Police and emergency medical teams were quickly dispatched to the scene, but Aksu had already succumbed to her injuries by the time help arrived. Municipal workers later cleaned the area while police investigators gathered evidence.
Law enforcement mobilized rapidly, setting up checkpoints around the city. Their efforts paid off when officers stationed at a checkpoint near Silivri, at the outskirts of Istanbul, intercepted and apprehended all four suspects as they attempted to leave the metropolitan area.
Camera footage captured the moment of their arrest, showing Silivri District Police Department officers ordering the suspects out of their vehicle and detaining them. The suspects were seen being forced to lie on the ground as they were apprehended with the vehicle used in the crime.
The brutal murder was witnessed by renowned Turkish actress Nur Surer, who lives in the vicinity. Visibly shaken by what she had seen, Surer provided a harrowing account of the events that unfolded before her eyes.
"I heard four gunshots in quick succession followed by two more," Surer recounted. "When I looked to the front, I saw the woman. My neighbor heard her screaming. She cried 'Help me!' before they tried to force her into the car."
Surer described how Aksu had briefly managed to escape her captors' grasp. "She broke free from their hands; she must have been a strong woman," the actress said. "They shot her from behind, and after she fell to the ground, he fired two more shots to her head."
After witnessing the municipal cleaning crews washing away the blood from the street, Surer expressed her profound grief. "Another woman has been torn from life. We don't know if she had children. I'm truly devastated."
This murder adds to the mounting toll of femicide in Türkiye. According to The Monument Counter, an online memorial that tracks domestic violence fatalities in real-time, Aksu became the 163rd woman killed in Türkiye so far this year.
"As artists, we've been fighting against this for years," Surer said, referring to her involvement in activism against gender-based violence. "This is the first time I've witnessed such violence firsthand."
The actress voiced strong opinions about the punishment for such crimes. "I'm against the death penalty and despise countries that have it, but these people need to remain in prison for life," she stated. "Killing women has become too easy in this country. Two women are murdered every day, and I'm deeply saddened to have witnessed such a tragedy."
Following standard procedure, Aksu's body was transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institution for examination while police continued their investigation. Elibol and his three accomplices remain in custody as authorities build their case.
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