Major development in the Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi case: Lawyer withdraws from the case

A notable development has occurred in the case concerning the death of 15-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, who lost his life following an attack at the Historical Tuesday Market in Kadıköy. It has emerged that the lawyer for the defendant A.Ö., who is being tried in connection with the incident, has withdrawn from the case.

The incident had sparked widespread public outcry regarding the death of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, who lost his life at a young age.

LAWYER RESIGNS FROM DUTY

According to information reported by Veryansın TV, the lawyer for defendant A.Ö. notified the court of their resignation through a petition submitted to the court.

In the petition submitted to the Istanbul Anatolian 2nd Juvenile High Criminal Court, the lawyer referred to the "disability report" controversy that took place on October 2.

Following this development, allegations had emerged in the public sphere that "a fake report was submitted to the file to save the primary perpetrator."

In the petition submitted to the court, the lawyer stated that this perception formed in the public eye was incorrect.

In their statement, they expressed that they "did not submit any report to the case file" and that "their client A.Ö. was not in the position of the primary perpetrator."

The lawyer concluded their duty by stating that they were withdrawing from the defense of A.Ö. due to "factors leading to incorrect interpretations" that had arisen.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The incident occurred on Friday, January 24, at approximately 08:25 at the Historical Tuesday Market in Kadıköy. According to eyewitness accounts, Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, the son of Italian chef Andrea Minguzzi and cellist Yasemin Akıncılar, had an argument with a group of cyclists.

While the group dispersed after bystanders intervened, Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi went to the flea market to shop. While shopping at the market, Minguzzi was stabbed five times by B.B., who was alleged to be from the group he had argued with. Meanwhile, the other suspect present, U.B., kicked Minguzzi as he fell to the ground. Minguzzi passed away in the hospital where he had been receiving treatment for 15 days.

A lawsuit was filed against B.B. and U.B., who were learned to be 15 years old, demanding prison sentences of 18 to 24 years each for the crime of "intentional killing of a child."

An indictment was prepared with a request for consolidation against defendants M.A.D. and A.Ö., who were determined to have been with the suspects on the day of the incident, for the crime of "aiding in the intentional killing of a child." Within the scope of the consolidated file, the 4 defendants appeared before the judge together for the first time on October 2.

In the tense hearing, the defendant's lawyer's submission of an "inclusion report" from defendant A.Ö.'s primary school years to the court drew reactions from citizens who had come to support the victim. After a break was called, a citizen expressed their reaction to the defense lawyer for submitting a disability report on behalf of the defendant, saying, "They weren't disabled when they were killing a person, are they disabled now? Are you shamelessly going to call murderers disabled? Don't you have a conscience? If you had a conscience, you wouldn't defend those murderers."

In the report submitted to the court by A.Ö.'s lawyer, it was stated that the defendant had received an inclusion report during primary school. It was noted that an inclusion report is a document issued by Guidance and Research Centers affiliated with the Ministry of National Education for students with atypical autism diagnoses who have an IQ level between 60-90, attention deficit, and specific learning disabilities.