Move for release from lawyers of Eylem Tok's son Timur Cihantimur: 'His mental health has deteriorated'
It has been learned that a psychiatric report has been submitted to the court with a request for the release of Timur Cihantimur, who was captured in the US after fleeing there with his mother, Eylem Tok. The report requests a re-evaluation of the bail and conditional release request that the judge had previously rejected.
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The case regarding the extradition to Turkey of Timur Cihantimur, who caused the death of Oğuz Murat Aci with a car he was driving without a license on the night of March 1 in Istanbul's Eyüpsultan district, and his mother Eylem Tok, who helped him flee abroad, continues at the Boston District Court in the state of Massachusetts.
After Judge Donald L. Cabell rejected the request to dismiss Cihantimur's extradition case to Turkey, he also denied the application made by his lawyers for his transfer from the juvenile detention center in Newark, where he was allegedly attacked.
'HIS MENTAL HEALTH DETERIORATED AFTER THE ATTACK'
According to reporting by Can Kamiloğlu from VOA Turkish, Cihantimur's lawyers stated in their latest 38-page petition submitted to the court that their client's mental health had deteriorated following the attack he suffered, and they submitted the latest psychiatric report prepared by a specialist doctor to the judge under a confidentiality order.
Cihantimur's lawyers, Martin G. Weinberg and Victoria Kelleher, asked the judge to 'urgently' evaluate the psychiatric report regarding their client, which was authored by child psychologist and therapist Dr. Elliot Atkins. Cihantimur's lawyers claimed that their client was also psychologically distressed following the physical attack at the juvenile detention center in Newark, and requested that the judge urgently re-evaluate the request for bail and conditional release and an emergency hearing, which had been previously rejected.
'CONFIDENTIALITY' REQUEST REGARDING THE REPORT
Stating that a confidentiality order should be issued for the psychiatric report of Cihantimur included in the petition submitted to the court, his lawyers said, "The report contains confidential medical information that should not be disclosed to the public. Furthermore, the content of the report has the potential to endanger the safety of Timur Cihantimur at the detention facility in Newark where he is currently being held." The psychiatric report and its details, which were included in the petition submitted to the court by his lawyers, were redacted in the case file.
'HE OBEYED HIS MOTHER'S DECISION AND WENT TO THE US'
Cihantimur's lawyers stated that their client is not a flight risk and that the judge should re-evaluate the rejection decision regarding his bail and conditional release, using the following expressions:
"The rejection decision dated July 9, 2024, should be reviewed. Timur Cihantimur, who is not a serious flight risk, can be released on bail. Our client has not fled from jurisdiction or the accident. He chose to come to the US instead of staying in Turkey. He was sixteen at the time of the accident and obeyed his mother's decision to go to her relatives in the US. He has neither independent financial resources of his own nor a travel document. How could he flee if he were released on conditional release with GPS monitoring and placed under the supervision of his aunt living in Massachusetts? He does not pose any threat to society, and the prosecution has never claimed otherwise. The release decision must be re-evaluated because circumstances have changed."