Family of British journalist found dead at Turkish airport say she acted alone

[muriel_volestrangler]

The family of a British journalist who was found dead at an airport in Turkey have said they believe no one else was involved in her death.

Jacqueline Sutton, 50, who was the acting Iraq director for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), was found dead at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport overnight on October 17-18. She had flown from London to take an onward flight to her base in Erbil in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Initial reports indicated she had taken her own life, but her family and friends were sceptical. But a statement issued by her family and IWPR said they had reached a preliminary conclusion that she acted alone.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/21/family-of-british-journalist-jacqueline-sutton-found-dead-at-turkish-airport-say-she-acted-alone

Statement on the Death of Jacqueline Sutton

Based on an extensive review of the information provided by Turkish authorities, the family of Jacky Sutton and IWPR have reached the preliminary conclusion that no other parties were involved in her death.

“The family is satisfied with the investigation undertaken by the Turkish authorities,” said Jenny Sutton, Jacky’s sister. “We were deeply sceptical about initial reports. But based on the evidence we have seen, at this stage we believe that Jacky acted alone.”

The Turkish authorities have cooperated fully and provided access to the complete dossier of evidence relating to the case, including copies of the CCTV images and all documentation.
...
Comprehensive CCTV footage with no apparent time gaps, still photographs, witness statements, a viewing of the body by her sister, and a site visit by IWPR and the family all indicate that Jacky was alone and that there was no sign of struggle.
Jacky had two credit cards and a large amount of cash with her, and there was no indication of theft or of any missing belongings.
There is no evidence that any item or material was involved in the incident other than items already in her possession.

https://iwpr.net/global-voices/statement-death-jacqueline-sutton

[TwilightGardener]

1. Who decides to kill themselves during a flight delay?

Unless she was already planning to kill herself in Erbil, Iraq, and thought, why sit at an airport and wait to do it? But the family believes it--very strange.

[kwassa]

2. I've felt like killing myself during a flight delay ...

Just sayin'.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Her family and colleagues are better place to understand her than we are

Some people point to her previous experiences and recent deaths of colleagues:

Ms Sutton was appointed to the role at the end of June following the death of her predecessor Ammar Al Shahbander, who died in a car bomb attack in Baghdad in May.
...
Paying tribute to Ms Sutton, friend Amanda Whitely on Sunday posted a blog on the website Her Canberra, which included an autobiographical account of the former UN worker’s life.

In the piece, Ms Sutton told how she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in 1995 after spending five years in Eritrea which she described as “life-changing”.

She said: “I took Prozac for a month, but it had some seriously weird side effects so I stopped.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11941702/CCTV-appears-to-show-former-BBC-journalist-Jacky-Sutton-in-Istanbul-airport-on-day-she-died.html

[Codeine]

6. It's difficult to apply logic to suicide.

The desire to kill oneself is a terrifying thing, and it's sometimes more a matter of fighting it off than "deciding" when it where to do it.

Travel and airports can be stressful, and for a person harboring suicidal thoughts that sort of stress could be enough to break down the last bit of resistance, the final fraying thread tethering them to this world.

[smirkymonkey]

4. Why am I not buying this?

Sorry, it just doesn't sound right. Of course if someone killed her for political reasons they wouldn't make it look like a theft. It just seems really off.

[MinM]

5. ‘No, that’s wrong, someone killed Jacky’

Others who knew Sutton did not mince words.

“What I’m sure about, the kind of person that Jacky was, it’s impossible she would have killed herself, impossible,” Mazin Elias, an Iraqi journalist who worked with Sutton, told MailOnline. “I’m really sad and sorry what happened, but if someone tells me ‘she killed herself,’ I tell him: ‘No, that’s wrong, someone killed Jacky’.”

Sutton’s brother Ian cited the “odd circumstances” of her death and friend and colleague Christian Bleuer tweeted that Sutton was the “Toughest woman u could meet. Turkish police say she committed suicide cuz she missed her flight?” Bleuer also wrote: “I’m not into conspiracies, but if the Turks say a security camera at Istanbul-Ataturk was ‘malfunctioning’ then Jacky Sutton was murdered.” ...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3278391/British-woman-50-hanged-toilets-Istanbul-airport-missing-connecting-flight-Iraq.html