10-year-old Yiğitcan, whom the court handed over to his father, was murdered by his father

10-year-old Yiğitcan T. was handed over to his father by court order, despite having previously been the target of an attempted murder by his father, Nezir T. However, after being handed over, he was brutally murdered by his father. The Court of Cassation ruled that the judge who issued this decision was at fault.

THE FATHER ATTEMPTED TO KILL HIS SON USING VARIOUS METHODS

According to reports by Mesut Hasan Benli from Hürriyet, the first poisoning incident occurred on September 15, 2017. The father attempted to kill his child at home using various methods. Upon the police being notified of the incident, the door of the house was broken down and the child was rescued. Due to this incident, Neriman T. filed a complaint against her husband. Following this event, the mother filed for divorce and obtained a protective order. On October 10, 2017, the father, Nezir Türkoğlu, applied to the court, stating that he did not want to divorce his wife and that he could not see his son, requesting permission to see him.

The judge accepted the request and allowed Yiğitcan to have overnight visits with his father. In accordance with the court order, Yiğitcan was handed over to his father on November 4, 2017. One day after taking custody of the child, on November 5, 2017, the father, Nezir, murdered him by stabbing him multiple times with monstrous intent.

Father Türkoğlu was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the murder of his son, Yiğitcan. Esin Y., the lawyer for the mother, Neriman T., filed a lawsuit at the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation against both the judge and the Treasury, demanding pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages on the grounds of gross negligence by the judge of the Istanbul 5th Family Court.

YİĞİTCAN, WHOM THE COURT HANDED OVER TO HIS FATHER, WAS MURDERED BY HIS FATHER

In the investigation conducted by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), it was decided that there was no need to impose a penalty on the judge. The 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, acting as the court of first instance, decided to accept the case. The Chamber ruled that 809 thousand 928 TL in pecuniary damages and 30 thousand TL in non-pecuniary damages should be collected from the Treasury along with legal interest and paid to the plaintiff.

Upon an appeal against the decision, the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation (YHGK) reviewed the file in its capacity as an appellate court. The YHGK ruled that the acceptance of the judge's legal liability was correct and that the decision to pay compensation to the mother was in accordance with the law. However, the YHGK, by majority vote, overturned the Chamber's decision on the grounds that the plaintiff should not be awarded compensation for loss of support, but rather "compensation to be determined" according to the Turkish Code of Obligations. Following the YHGK's decision, the file returned to the Chamber's agenda. On September 24, 2024, the Chamber decided to insist on its initial ruling.