Prison sentence sought for Cengiz Kurtoğlu over assault and insult charges
A prison sentence of up to 1 year and 9 months has been requested for artist Cengiz Kurtoğlu on charges of "assault" and "insult."
İHA
The prosecutor's opinion has been presented in the trial of artist Cengiz Kurtoğlu, who is accused of assaulting Mustafa Can at a venue in Istanbul for allegedly insulting artist Orhan Gencebay.
The hearing at the Istanbul 55th Criminal Court of First Instance was attended by the defendant Cengiz Kurtoğlu, who is being tried without arrest, and the lawyers for both parties.
The judge entered into the record that the report requested from the Council of Forensic Medicine regarding the complainant's injuries had reached the file. The report stated that there was no permanent scarring on the complainant's face.
In his defense, Kurtoğlu stated that he had attended a friend's birthday party on the day of the incident and that he did not know the complainant.
'HE SAID, "NONE OF THESE ARE ARTISTS"'
Testifying at the hearing, the defendant Kurtoğlu stated that he had been told that people like Cem Yılmaz, Hakan Altun, and figures from the sports world would be among the guests at the birthday party, but that it was not as he had expected.
In his defense, Kurtoğlu said, "While it was being discussed where he was from and where I was from, the topic came to Orhan Gencebay. The complainant, looking directly at my face, said regarding Gencebay, 'from the Samsun gypsies.' He used these words, then brought the topic to İbrahim Tatlıses and Ümit Besen. The tension rose there. Then he said, 'None of these are artists; the only artist in Turkey is Ciguli.' Afterwards, there was a verbal argument between us. We were shouting at each other, but I did not insult the complainant in any way. I had no physical contact either; we were both intoxicated. I only pushed the person with my hand; I did not have any object in my hand. Therefore, I do not accept the allegation that I struck the complainant with a knife. My intention was not to hit the person either.''
PRISON REQUEST
Presenting his opinion on the merits at the hearing, the public prosecutor requested that the defendant Kurtoğlu be sentenced to a total of 5 months to 1 year and 9 months in prison for the crimes of 'simple assault' and 'insult' under unjust provocation. The lawyers for the parties requested time from the court to prepare their defense against the presented opinion.
Announcing the interim decision, the court ruled to grant the lawyers for the parties time to present their defense and statements, and adjourned the hearing.
After the hearing, Kurtoğlu responded to questions from members of the press by saying, "To those who hear, to those who don't,’’ and left the courthouse.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that the complainant Mustafa Can and the suspect Cengiz Kurtoğlu attended a mutual friend's birthday party, sat at the same table, and met, and that Kurtoğlu reacted to the words spoken by the complainant Can about Orhan Gencebay during the conversation. The indictment, which stated that a verbal argument began between the parties, noted that during the argument, the suspect Kurtoğlu insulted the complainant with profanity and then punched him in the face.
The indictment, which also included the statement of the suspect Kurtoğlu, recorded that he said the complainant made insulting criticisms about beloved and respected artists, that he warned the complainant in a polite manner for this reason, and that when he continued his insults, he held him by the mouth area with his hand, and at this stage, his fingernail might have scratched the complainant's face.
In the prepared indictment, it was requested that the suspect Cengiz Kurtoğlu be sentenced to a total of 7 months to 3 years in prison, consisting of 4 months to 1 year for the crime of 'simple assault' and 3 months to 2 years for the crime of 'insult'.