Court reaches verdict in Bahar Aksu murder case

The verdict has been announced in the trial of Rüstem Elibol and 3 other defendants for the murder of his ex-wife, Bahar Aksu, whom he shot and killed in Şişli. The court panel sentenced all 4 defendants to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'premeditated murder in complicity'.

On May 5, 2025, in Istanbul's Şişli district, 34-year-old Bahar Aksu was targeted for abduction by her ex-husband, Rüstem Elibol, and his associates as she arrived at the hotel where she worked part-time as an assistant cook. When she resisted, she was shot multiple times and killed by Elibol. The trial of the 4 defendants regarding the incident continued at the Istanbul 4th High Criminal Court.

The detained defendants were present at the hearing via the SEGBİS system. The presiding judge asked the defendants for their final statements. Defendant Semih Yapar stated, "I did not want to kidnap or kill anyone. Rüstem is not my relative, he is nothing to me. I did not see a weapon. I had no plan to kill. I never touched Ms. Bahar Aksu."

Defendant Rüstem Elibol said, "They say it was planned and so on. It is all lies and deceit. I do not want to say anything. At first, I loved my wife very much. I am regretful."

Following the defense statements, the court announced its verdict, sentencing the 4 defendants to aggravated life imprisonment for 'premeditated murder in complicity'. The court also sentenced the 4 defendants to 4 years and 6 months in prison each for 'attempted deprivation of liberty in complicity'. Furthermore, defendant Rüstem Elibol was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a judicial fine of 10 thousand TL for 'possession of an unlicensed firearm'.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was requested that defendant Rüstem Elibol be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and 6 to 18 years in prison for the crimes of 'premeditated murder of an ex-spouse', 'deprivation of liberty of an ex-spouse by multiple persons with a weapon', and 'possession of an unlicensed firearm'. It was requested that the other 3 defendants, Aziz Başkan, Samet Salman, and Semih Yapar, be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and 4 to 14 years in prison for the crimes of 'premeditated murder against a woman' and 'deprivation of liberty by multiple persons with a weapon'.