In Antalya, Turkish authorities arrested a man who set his ex-wife on fire following a heated argument. The suspect, identified as 42-year-old motorcycle mechanic Gürhan Ü., was apprehended shortly after the incident and detained pending trial. According to Sozcu, after being referred to the courthouse, he was arrested by the duty magistrate.
"My ex-wife's attitude changed after the divorce. She was not letting me see my child. For this reason, I went to her workplace this morning. Before going, I bought gasoline from the gas station. Normally, I didn't have such a thing in mind, but it came to my mind in the morning. I tried to talk for a while, but when we argued, I did it," said Gürhan in his first statement to the authorities, according to T24.
The victim, identified as 36-year-old mother of one Pınar Z., is currently in critical condition with severe burns covering 60% of her body. She is intubated in the intensive care unit at Akdeniz University Hospital's burn center. En Son Haber reports that she has undergone multiple operations to treat her third-degree burns.
The incident occurred in the Şirinyalı neighborhood of Muratpaşa district in Antalya. On the morning of the attack, witnesses say that Gürhan, dressed in black and wearing a ski mask, confronted Pınar near her workplace. According to Cumhuriyet, after a heated argument, he poured a flammable substance on her and set her on fire before fleeing the scene on his motorcycle.
Bystanders, including local shopkeeper Mesut Avgın, rushed to her aid. "I saw them arguing, and suddenly she was engulfed in flames. We grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to help her," Avgın said, as reported by Haberler. Emergency teams arrived quickly and provided first aid before transporting her to the hospital.
Family members of the victim believe that the attack was premeditated. "We warned him. We met. We said, 'This can't go on, don't follow her.' But in the end, he caused such harm," said Pınar's brother, Serhat Zorlu, according to Milliyet. He added that despite multiple restraining orders against Gürhan, sufficient legal protection was not provided. "Defensive measures were not taken. This incident happened despite knowing the risks," he stated to Haberler.
Zorlu also mentioned that Gürhan had a history of substance abuse, which contributed to their divorce just 21 days prior to the incident. "My sister put everything on the line to have him treated. He quit for two months, then continued using again," he said, as reported by En Son Haber.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.