Supreme Court prosecutor finds sentence insufficient: Demand for aggravated life imprisonment for Ümitcan Uygun

The Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has requested the reversal of the 10-year prison sentence given to defendant Ümitcan Uygun for the murder of Esra Hankulu on the charge of "injury resulting in death." In the notification it prepared, the Chief Prosecutor's Office stated that "the murder was committed intentionally" and that defendant Uygun should be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

In Ankara, Esra Hankulu was found dead in her home on August 3, 2020. A lawsuit was filed at the Ankara 9th High Criminal Court against Ümitcan Uygun, who was determined to have spent the night with the young woman, demanding an aggravated life sentence for "intentional killing," and against Dilan Civelek and Furkan Gürgil, who were in the house on the night of the incident, demanding up to 5 years in prison for "destroying, concealing, or altering evidence of a crime."

A 10-YEAR SENTENCE HAD BEEN GIVEN

As a result of the trial, Uygun was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "injury resulting in death," while the other two defendants were sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison. The appellate court found the local court's decision to be in accordance with the law and decided to reject the appeals. Following the appellate review, the file was moved to the Supreme Court.

According to the report by Mesut Hasan Benli from Hürriyet, the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has completed its notification regarding the file. Pointing out that Esra Hankulu was in a state where she could not defend herself due to the effects of the medication and alcohol she had taken on the day of the incident, the following assessment was summarized:

"It is understood from the Forensic Medicine Institute reports that defendant Ümitcan Uygun applied force to the victim's head, a vital area, in a manner that would result in death due to blunt force trauma. The injuries on various parts of the victim's body (elbows, arms, legs, thigh areas, and neck), the severity of the blow to the victim's head, the vital importance of the head area where the blow was struck, and the causal link between the defendant's action toward the victim's head and the result of death have been established by the Forensic Medicine Institute reports; thus, as it is understood that defendant Ümitcan Uygun committed the crime of intentional killing, it is necessary to decide that he be punished in accordance with Article 82/1-e of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) corresponding to the defendant's action."