Vedat Çem Erkmen was held in Tekirdağ No. 2 F Type Prison and was serving a sentence of aggravated life imprisonment. He died under suspicious circumstances on Sunday. The prison administration, which called Erkmen’s family at around 9 pm on Sunday, claimed that Erkmen committed suicide in his cell.

The body of Erkmen, who was brought to the Istanbul Küçükçekmece Cemeteries Directorate in the morning, was requested by his family to be taken to the Digor Dağpınar Association in Esenyurt, after his religious obligations were fulfilled. However, the police told the family, “Wait. Why are you taking him to Esenyurt? You're going to make a mess there. You can't take it to the association," and added they won’t give them the body.

The family said: "They are not giving us the body because we are Kurds." Erkmen's family and representatives of non-governmental organizations continue to wait to get the body.

Coffin abducted by police

The police then told the family that they received instructions that the body would not be taken to Esenyurt. The body of Erkmen, who was in the transport vehicle, was kept in the hangar.

While the family was waiting, Erkmen's body was abducted by the police. It was stated that the body would be taken to the Mehmetçik Foundation, located between Istanbul and Gebze. The Erkmen family also set out to follow the vehicle carrying the abducted coffin.