Timur Cihantimur's $2 million bail request denied

The case regarding the extradition to Turkey of 17-year-old Timur Cihantimur, who was smuggled to the U.S. via Egypt by his mother Eylem Tok after causing the death of Oğuz Murat Aci in a traffic accident in Istanbul's Eyüpsultan district on March 1, and his mother, continues at the U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts.

According to a report by Can Kamiloğlu from Voice of America Turkish, Cihantimur's application for release on bail has been denied. In his 47-page reasoned decision, Judge Donald L. Cabell stated that Cihantimur poses a flight risk and ruled that he remain in custody during the trial.

Judge Cabell granted the prosecution's request to transfer Cihantimur from the Manson Youth Institution in Connecticut, where he is currently being held, to another facility.

It was noted that the court examined the claims made by Cihantimur's lawyers regarding the Manson Youth Institution—where their client is currently held and which was cited as a reason for his bail request—along with other arguments presented, by breaking them down into sections.

The reasoned decision stated that it was determined that Cihantimur failed to meet the burden of proving special circumstances requiring his release, and that his lawyers' claims regarding the negative conditions at his current detention facility were insufficient to establish the conditions necessary for release on bail.

"THERE IS A FLIGHT RISK"

Judge Cabell stated that based on the evidence and arguments presented, the court determined that releasing Cihantimur would pose a flight risk, adding, "Cihantimur fled Turkey just hours after the accident, and therefore it is quite clear that he poses a flight risk if released. The court is not convinced that Tok was the sole instigator of the defendants' flight from Turkey. On the contrary, Cihantimur, who stated several times that his life was over, was actively involved in the escape from the country after the accident."

Judge Cabell noted that in the application made to the court by Cihantimur's lawyers, it was proposed that he could be kept under house arrest at his aunt's home in Amesbury, Massachusetts, that his passport could be confiscated, and that he was prepared to reside under any conditions the court deemed appropriate.

$200,000 OFFERED

In addition to these assurances, it was stated that a house in Turkey worth more than $2 million, owned by the defendant's father Bülent Cihantimur and free of any mortgages, was offered as collateral, and that the father also submitted a signed document stating he was prepared to pay the required cash bond of $200,000 or more.

News Source: 12punto