Supreme Court of Appeals requests 'upholding' of Sinan Ateş case verdict

The notification states that the decisions regarding Eray Özyağcı, Suat Kurt, and Vedat Balkaya, who were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of Sinan Ateş, as well as Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş, who received the same sentence for instigating the crime, are in accordance with the law. The Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor concluded that the prison sentences given to Aşkın Mert Gelenbey, Mustafa Uzunlar, Emre Yüksel, and Murat Can Çolak for "aiding in premeditated murder" were also appropriate, and requested that these verdicts be upheld by rejecting the appeals on their merits.

The prepared notification also notes that the appeals filed against the acquittal decisions for some defendants were examined, and it was stated that there was no procedural or legal irregularity in the decisions of the Regional Court of Justice. In this context, it was requested that the acquittal verdicts also be upheld.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office did not find the claims made by the defense attorneys and the attorneys for the plaintiffs regarding the evaluation of evidence, the nature of the crime, incomplete investigation, and procedural irregularities to be valid; it shared the view that the local court decisions were consistent with the case file, the evidence, and the law.

Following the conviction rulings, the appeals filed by the lawyers were rejected by the Ankara Regional Court of Justice. Subsequently, the file was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor completed its review and expressed the opinion in its notification that the appeals should be rejected on their merits and the decisions should be upheld.

The final decision regarding the case will be made by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

News Source: İHA