Ümitcan Uygun appears in court: Facing up to 18 years in prison!

Ümitcan Uygun, who is being tried for the death of Sema Esen, known to the public as Aleyna Çakır, has appeared in court. The hearing for the case, in which Uygun is charged with "inciting suicide," "strengthening the decision to commit suicide," and "torture," has been adjourned until May 23.

The hearing, held at the Ankara 34th High Criminal Court, was attended by Ümitcan Uygun, who is currently a convict and detainee in another case, as well as the lawyers for the parties and the family of the deceased, Sema Esen.

In his statement, Uygun claimed that he had argued with the deceased, Esen, on the day of the incident, stating, "I was going to go to a soldier's send-off party, and I didn't want to take Sema because there would be men there. I put my phone on airplane mode to prevent the argument from escalating; I do not accept the accusations. There is a video in the file, but this video belongs to a time before the night of the incident. Sema and I were living as husband and wife. My whole family found out that Sema was already working at a nightclub. I stood up to my family and started living with Sema. However, when I realized it wouldn't work out, I decided to break up," he said.

Claiming that he did not use any violence against Sema Esen, Uygun said, "The incident in the video happened once; there were verbal arguments, but I did not use physical violence. I have nothing to do with the bruises on Sema's body. I request my acquittal."

According to the report in BirGün, after hearing the statements of the defendant, witnesses, and lawyers, the court announced its interim decision, rejecting the request for a new crime scene investigation at the apartment where Sema Esen lost her life. The court panel accepted the request of the plaintiff's lawyers to hear new witnesses and ordered that the file of Ümit Uygun at the 17th Criminal Court of First Instance be added to the case file.

Furthermore, the court rejected the request to include camera footage from buildings near the residence where the incident occurred in the case file and adjourned the next hearing until May 23.