Hamburg's Aviation Center - Former spouse characterizes airport captor as assertive.
The former wife of the Hamburg airport hostage-taker referred to him as "aggressive and eruptive" during his trial. Before the November hostage situation last year, where the 35-year-old Turkish man attempted to exit with his young daughter on a plane to Turkey, he had used his child as a means of pressure against her. In court at the Hamburg Higher Regional Court, the 39-year-old testified over a video connection.
They met online in 2017, and soon after, they married in Istanbul. The man then traveled to Hamburg on a tourist visa. "I observed that he would occasionally lose control," stated the 39-year-old. "There was also an increase in family violence." She wanted a child to make it easier for the father to remain in Germany.
After the birth of their daughter, the arguments intensified. However, she continued the relationship to keep her family together. They planned to move into a larger apartment in Stade, Lower Saxony. "I didn't want to break up the family," she explained. "I wanted my daughter to grow up with her father, so I just dealt with everything."
He repeatedly threatened to take the child away from her. "You gave me the child, I can also take it away from you again," he would say. Finally, he secretly took the child to Turkey. Although a Turkish court initially granted her temporary custody, the defendant did not return the child. It took her weeks to retrieve her daughter and bring her back to Germany.
On November 4th of last year, the 35-year-old managed to enter his ex-wife's apartment in Stade using a ruse, threatening her with a weapon, and taking the child. "I should have been more cautious," she sobbed.
Then the man drove to Hamburg Airport with the then four-year-old daughter, smashing through several barriers with a rental car, and advanced to the runway. He threw two firecrackers, shot three times into the air, and threatened to detonate himself and his child with an explosive belt. After 18 hours, the 35-year-old surrendered and was arrested.
Police report from 05.11.2023
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During the trial, the woman described her ex-husband as "aggressive and erratic" in Lower Saxony. The hostage-taker's criminal actions at Hamburg Airport were heavily influenced by his desperation to leave Germany with his daughter. Originating from Turkey, he had used his daughter as a bargaining chip against his ex-wife.
Despite their 2017 online meeting and Istanbul marriage, the woman detailed her concerns about his frequent loss of control and increase in family violence. Transporting themselves to Stade, they aimed to foster a better family life in a larger apartment.
Unfortunately, the couple's relationship worsened post-birth, with the man systematically threatening to take their daughter away from her. After secretly traveling to Turkey with their daughter, the Turkish court granted her temporary custody, but the hostage-taker defied the ruling.
The hostage-taking incident occurred on November 4th when the man entered his ex-wife's apartment, threatening her with a weapon and taking their daughter. He then drove towards Hamburg Airport, causing chaos with a rental car on the runway, and threatened self-detonation with an explosive belt.
Air traffic was halted, causing significant disruption to Germany's air traffic processes. Following an 18-hour standoff, the hostage-taker surrendered and was arrested, allowing authorities to reunite the mother with her child.
Subsequent investigations revealed the man had attempted to duplicate the processes used at Hamburg Airport to potentially gain unauthorized entry into Istanbul Airport.
