Rent dispute in Istanbul ends in murder: Verdict reached for landlord who killed his 16-year tenant

In the Gaziosmanpaşa district of Istanbul, a landlord named Ertuğrul Öztunç shot and killed his tenant with a handgun following an argument over a rent increase.

The hearing at the Istanbul 39th High Criminal Court was attended by the detained defendant, Ertuğrul Öztunç, and his lawyer.

The court panel, announcing that it would deliver its verdict, asked the defendant for his final statement.

Defendant Öztunç stated that he had been like family with the victim, Hüseyin Asar, and said in his defense, "I regret that such an unpleasant incident occurred. We would not have wanted such an event to take place."

The court panel sentenced the defendant, Öztunç, to 14 years and 2 months for "intentional homicide under unjust provocation" and 1 year and 8 months for "possession of an unlicensed firearm," and ruled that his detention should continue.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that Hüseyin Asar had been a tenant for 16 years in an apartment owned by the defendant, Ertuğrul Öztunç, in Gaziosmanpaşa, and that the defendant and the victim had argued periodically due to disagreements over the rent amount and the eviction of the apartment.

The indictment further noted that an argument over a rent increase occurred between the defendant and the victim on July 8, 2023, that Öztunç fired 7 shots at Asar with an unlicensed handgun before fleeing, that the wounded man died at the hospital where he was taken, and that the defendant turned himself in to a police station with his weapon three days later.

The Forensic Medicine Institute report included in the indictment stated that three gunshot wounds were detected on the victim Asar's body, one of which was fatal, and noted that the cause of death was internal bleeding resulting from internal organ damage caused by the gunshot wounds.

The report prepared by the Istanbul Regional Criminal Police Laboratory Directorate stated that it was determined that the bullet casings found at the scene were fired from the weapon the defendant had with him when he surrendered to the police.

In the indictment, it was requested that the defendant Ertuğrul Öztunç be sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of "intentional homicide" and to 1 to 3 years in prison for "possessing and carrying an unlicensed firearm."

News Source: AA