Originally from Morocco, Jadoid Merroune was one of those who fell a martyr during the Gülenist Terror Organization’s coup attempt on July 15. Merroune had been living in İstanbul for two years. The 32-year-old Merroune, who could speak five languages, earned his living as a tour guide. He shared the same flat for two years with his friend, also a tourism professional. The Morroccan youth, who was in love with Turkey, rushed to streets without a second thought upon hearing the news on TV on the night of July 15.
The martyr’s homemate Ömer Kaya stated, “We rushed out upon the call of President Erdoğan. Merroune was more wishful than me. He was working in a country, where democracy ran properly, as well. We went to the Bosphorus Bridge together, to stop the tanks. The scene was terrible. The soldiers were firing randomly, everywhere. Then, I saw Merroune was shot. I took him to the hospital with the help of people. However, we couldn’t save him in spite of all the interventions made.”
“We were waiting for the news of his unborn child”
Merroune’s father, Abdüsselam Merroune, who is in his 60s and lives in Tangiers, Morocco, reported that his son rushed to streets along with thousands to repel the coup attempt on the previous Friday. He stated, “We were waiting for the news of his child’s birth in a few months, but instead, we got the news of Jadoid’s death, who became a target for the bullets of the putschists in İstanbul.”
Reporting that they heard the news upon calling Merroune’s wife on Saturday morning, Merroune’s father stated, “My daughter in law, who got worried because of the incidents occuring in Turkey, wanted to speak to her husband. But one of Merroune’s friends, a peddler, answered the phone and told her that he had been shot by the putschists.”
The procedure to assign a martyrdom salary was run for the family in Morocco, whose son was officially entitled a martyr of July 15, to provide them relief.
