Kemal Kurkut was killed by police officials during the 2017 Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır, Turkey. The final hearing of the case is to be held on 17 November.
The Diyarbakır 7th High Penal Court will make its judgement on the defendant police official Y.Ş. regarding the death of Kurkut.
The prosecutor changed the category of the crime from “killing intentionally” to “killing with conscious negligence” in the last hearing of the case on 16 June, and demanded that the defendant be sentenced from two to six years in prison.
Ercan Kurkut, brother of Kemal, spoke before the hearing to remind the public of the incidents that occurred after his brother was murdered. “The final hearing, where Kemal Kurkut’s killer will be tried, will be held in so-called court. As we have said before, we have no expectations”.
What happened?
Kemal Kurkut was shot by police during a 2017 Newroz celebration he attended in Diyarbakır. Following the incident, the Diyarbakır Governorship made a statement and said that Kurkut had been shot on the suspicion of “being a suicide bomber”.
The next day, however, the truth was revealed by footage recorded during the incident. The Diyarbakır Governorship subsequently stated that he shared the information obtained from the police department. After the footage was released, police officers Y.Ş. and O.M. were detained. However, the prosecutor has since released O.M.
The indictment of the case was prepared seven months after the incident by the Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office. YŞ. has been sent to court for arrest on the charge of killing with eventual intent.
The first hearing of the case was held on 14 December 2017.