Chilling defense in the 'Ramazan Hoca from Diyarbakır' trial: 'I plotted the murder in my head'

The trial continued for Erkan Baykut (24), who was arrested on charges of stabbing and killing Ramazan Pişkin, known as 'Ramazan Hoca', at his tea house named 'Diyarbakırlı Ramazan Hoca’nın Yeri' in Fatih on January 31, 2024, claiming he had mistaken him for someone else.

The detained defendant Erkan Baykut and the lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing held at the Istanbul 3rd High Criminal Court.

The defendant's lawyer, who stated that he had just received the file, said in his defense at the hearing, 'I am requesting time for additional defense. We request that a report regarding the mental health of the defendant be obtained from the Council of Forensic Medicine. A report regarding his psychological state must be obtained.'

'I PLOTTED THE MURDER IN MY HEAD'

In his defense in court, defendant Baykut stated, 'I plotted the murder in my head after I first saw him on social media. I had seen the victim on social media 4 months before this incident. One month before the incident, I saw him 5 minutes away from where my father's shop is located. I replaced him with the people who persecuted me. I thought he looked like them. I was under the influence of narcotics. I passed by the shop 4-5 days before the incident, the victim was inside the shop. I had bought the knife 2 months before the incident to kill the victim.'

Plaintiff lawyer Akif Eringin said in his statement, 'The defendant is implementing a plotted scenario. He has not shown remorse for justice, nor has he shown respect. His defenses are contradictory. The defendant clearly said, "I bought the knife and planned to kill the victim." He still shows no remorse for the murder. We demand that he be punished without any sentence reduction.'
The request for a mental health report was rejected

Announcing its interim decision, the court decided to reject the request for a report on the defendant's mental health from the Council of Forensic Medicine, citing the defendant's defenses during the hearings, the absence of any symptoms in his statements regarding mental illness, and the lack of any report on this matter. The panel, which ruled to grant the defendant's lawyer time to prepare a defense on the merits and for the defendant to remain in custody, adjourned the hearing.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that İbrahim B., who gave a statement as a witness, heard a noise while he was at the pharmacy right next door, and when he went out of the pharmacy to check, he saw a male person with a knife in his hand running away from the tea house, and subsequently, when he checked the tea house, he saw Ramazan Pişkin lying on the ground injured and informed the medical teams. In the prepared indictment, it was requested that the suspect Erkan Baykut be sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional killing'.