SUSPECT COMES FROM GOOD FAMILY

Munever and Cem were 17 when they got to know each other at Starbucks in the upscale Istanbul suburb of Bebek. Munever was pretty and popular in her class, she was preparing for her entrance exams to study international relations. He was the son of rich parents and widely traveled, perhaps it is better to say widely passed around. Since the age of 12 he lived in boarding schools all over the world. Perhaps he was not a good student, but he spoke Spanish, French, Italian, Greek and Chinese. For her it seemed to be the love of her life.

On the 3rd of March this year Cem Garipoglu wanted to organize a birthday party for his girlfriend. Shortly before noon he brought her to his home. On the evening before they had both chatted over the internet. He had promised her a ” big surprise” . As surveillance cameras later show, he left the house again at 2p.m. Police assume it was to buy a saw.

BODY IN GARBAGE BIN

Munever Karabalut would not live to see her 18th birthday. Her choped up body was found in a garbage bin. Her head was found in a guitar case. Cem’s guitar case. Before her murder she had been abused. Though she had been a virgin until death, traces of sperm were found in her underwear.

When the police arrived at Cem’s parents home a few hours later, the house, from attic to basement, had been freshly scrubbed. Despite that the police found traces of Munever’s blood. They found Cem’s blood soaked garments and under his bed a bloody saw with traces of hair. No trace of Cem. The parents claimed they knew nothing and although police discovered traces of blood on their clothes, the court dismissed the case.

Cem Garipoglu has disappeared without a trace. The Garipoglu family is one of the richest in Turkey. Cem’s father Mehmet Nida Goripoglu is the owner of “Burgas Raki” distilleries which is why the case is making such waves. Shortly after the murder young Turks joined facebook to commemorate Munever. The site has 88,000 supporters.

PROTESTS WERE SUCCESSFUL

Apart from the action on Facebook, there were demonstrations against the judiciary for their lack of action. It is believed the deliberate murderer Cem Garipoglu has with the help of his family fled the country. This has reinforced the belief in the country that if you are rich, you can get away with anything.

The protests are having some effect. Cem’s father, whom the judges had at first set free is now under arrest. There is also the matter of the chief of police in Istanbul, Celletin Cerrah. When questioned about the lack of results after two months of investigation, he retorted: “Why did you not look after your daughter better?”. Would you allow your daughter to stay till late at night at a friends house? He did not do himself any favours with this “her fault”. Immediately the case of Munever was not only a cause for critics of the Turkish class system, now the authorities had the various womens groups at their throat. The parliament’s human rights commission has given the chief of police his walking papers. Since last week he has a new job, chief of police in a distant rural district.