Somali President’s son flees Turkey after killing motor courier in car crash

A Turkish prosecutor on Dec. 8 issued an arrest warrant for the son of Somalia's President after he had fled Turkey as he was revealed to be the driver in the Nov. 30 car accident that killed motor courier Yunus Emre Göçer. His escape from Turkey drew ire as no international travel ban was imposed upon him after the accident that led to Göçer's death on Dec. 5.

Friday December 08 2023 10:06 pm

Duvar English

A Turkish prosecutor on Dec. 8 found that the son of Somalia's President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, fled Turkey before a Turkish court issued an international travel ban.

The suspect was revealed to be the driver in the Nov. 30 fatal accident that killed 38-year-old motor courier Yunus Emre Göçer. The prosecution issued an arrest warrant for the President’s son days after he fled the country.

The warrant request of the Turkish prosecutor’s office stated that the suspect’s exit from Turkey was on record and he could not be reached by authorities.

The Nov. 30 traffic accident in Istanbul resulted in motor courier Göçer heavily injured, whereas the police released the then-unidentified driver after taking a statement. Göçer died six days after the accident.

It was later revealed the driver was the Somalian President’s son Mohamud, who was driving a vehicle belonging to the Somalian Consulate.

An expert’s report denied the claims made by Mohamud during his police statement and found him the primary negligent party in the accident.

A Turkish court issued an international travel ban for Mohamud on Dec. 7. The prosecution stated that they suspected Mohamoud escaped Turkey on Dec. 2, before the travel ban.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu criticized the perpetrator’s escape from Turkey. “The mindset that overlooks and allows for this escape has unfortunately become incapacitated to protect its own citizens’ rights in their own country,” wrote İmamoğlu on his social media account.

Moto-kurye Yunus Emre Göçer, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti vatandaşıydı. Somali Cumhurbaşkanı’nın oğlunun yaptığı kazayla bu hayattan koparıldı. Biz, hukuki sürecin takipçisi olacağız dedik ama zanlı elini kolunu sallayarak Türkiye’den ayrıldı. Kurbanın ailesinin acısı daha da katlandı. Bu… pic.twitter.com/zLhzX7JiSa
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) December 8, 2023

Motor couriers' groups had protested the lack of punishment after the accident and called for increased security in their line of work.