The killer's father had been acquitted: New development in the murder case of motorcycle courier Ata Emre Akman

The reasoning for the decision by the Balıkesir 1st High Criminal Court, which resulted in a 24-year prison sentence for E.Ö. and the acquittal of his father, Orhan Ö., for the murder of 20-year-old Ata Emre Akman—a student at Balıkesir University's Faculty of Tourism, Department of Tourism Guidance—on May 11 while he was working as a courier, has been released.

In the decision, which stated that the charge of "premeditated murder" was not applied to the defendant, it was noted that the claims of E.Ö., who stated that the victim had answered him mockingly, were considered defenses aimed at benefiting from provocation provisions and receiving a lighter sentence, and thus his defenses in this regard were not credited.

The following statements were included in the evaluation section of the decision regarding the determination of the base sentence:

"Considering that the perpetrator carried out his act devoid of all human values and emotions, taking the life of an innocent university student who had no connection to the parties and was in his twentieth year, thereby depriving him of his most fundamental right, the right to life; the intense intent harbored by the perpetrator; the fact that the act was widely covered in media and social media and watched by thousands of people, causing the chilling and terrifying nature of the act to be felt by the entire society; the fact that these knives, swung at Ata Emre for no reason, in a sense targeted and disrupted the security perception, social peace, and environment of tranquility of the entire society; the state of anxiety and unease created for every individual by the knowledge that such persons are on the streets; the state of public outrage that emerged after the act; the intense reaction from many segments ranging from non-governmental organizations to political parties following this outrage; the inexplicable pain and suffering experienced by the victim's family; and the perpetrator's personality traits prone to all kinds of crimes according to his criminal record, it was concluded that a sentence at the lower limit provided by law for the simple and typical form of the alleged crime would not be corrective for the perpetrator and would not show a deterrent effect regarding his intent to commit crimes. Therefore, the perpetrator was not evaluated as a first-time offender, and in accordance with Article 3/1 and Article 61 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), his sentence was determined at the upper limit, and it was decided that he be sentenced to 24 years in prison."

The reasoned decision, which noted that there are rulings in Court of Cassation and Appellate practices where sentencing at the absolute upper limit is sometimes not found appropriate due to "more severe circumstances," stated that in this specific case, it was evaluated that all severe circumstances, from the manner in which the act was committed to its heavy consequences, had occurred. It was accepted that sentencing at the upper limit was also necessary for the satisfaction of the sense of justice in the case of E.Ö., whose sentence was already significantly reduced due to his status as a child in accordance with Article 31/3 of the TCK.

THE KILLER'S FATHER HAD BEEN ACQUITTED

Regarding the evaluation of the defendant Orhan Ö., it was recorded that the defendant's statements or his conversations in the presence of his son did not meet the requirements for the crime of "incitement" either in a legal sense or because the content of the statements was insufficient for incitement; therefore, the act was not proven according to the scope of the file, and a decision for his acquittal was rendered.

In the section of the reasoned decision evaluating the act in question and current legal legislation, it was emphasized that those who take the life of Ata Emre are actually individuals who violate all the listed values and fundamental rights of society, and the statement, "In a state of law, criminals or those prone to crime should not be able to commit crimes so boldly, and should not even dare to do so," was included.

The decision also recorded the following:

"Viewed from this perspective, considering the heavy consequences such as the execution process of sentences for crimes against life corresponding to a short period for persons with criminal status, and the fact that people in the 'crime swamp' mix back into society in a very short time despite multiple convictions and abuse the rights granted to them by the legislator to once again ruin the lives of innocent and clean people who fulfill their civic duties and aim to live in a safe environment, it is evaluated that there is benefit in re-evaluating the penal execution law and the TCK, at least regarding crimes committed against life."

The following statements were included in the final part of the reasoned decision:

"As a requirement of the principle of the state of law, it has been deemed necessary to establish the following ruling regarding the sending of the reasoned decision to the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) Justice Commission and the General Directorate of Legislation of the Ministry of Justice, which is tasked with preparing the infrastructure for legal regulations to be made according to social needs and demands, in terms of our Parliament, the sole legislator, providing practitioners with sufficient arguments to satisfy the sense of justice in society, regulating the disruptions that arise in execution, or taking them into account during the law-making stages, and showing the necessary sensitivity in this regard."