Prosecutor Seeks 6 Years For Officer Suspected Of Killing Man Outside Cemevi

An İstanbul prosecutor has demanded up to six years in prison for a police officer who is suspected of fatally shooting Uğur Kurt on May 22, in an indictment prepared as part of an ongoing investigation into Kurt's death.

Kurt was hit by a bullet while standing outside a cemevi (Alevi place of worship) to attend a funeral and later died in the hospital.

The incident occurred after a group of 10 to 15 locals began chanting anti-government slogans over the death of a youth, Gezi victim Berkin Elvan, in earlier clashes with police. They were also protesting a May 13 mining disaster in which 301 people died in the Soma district of the western province of Manisa.

Hasan Yılmaz, a prosecutor from the İstanbul Courthouse, prepared the indictment and sent it to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for approval. In his indictment the prosecutor said the bullet that killed Kurt was fired from the gun being used by police officer Sezgin K., who is the sole suspect in the investigation. Yılmaz also brought up testimony delivered by Sezgin K. on Aug. 21 in which the officer stated that he didn't see any civilian in the vicinity when he was firing the gun. The officer added that no one had warned him of the presence of any civilians at the scene.

Indicating that the policeman did not act intentionally in the incident, the prosecutor stated in the indictment that the officer should be given three to six years in prison on the charge of “reckless homicide.”

If the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office approves the indictment, it will be sent to an İstanbul high criminal court for the launch of a trial into the killing of Kurt.

Some media reports claimed that Sezgin K., a member of İstanbul's anti-terrorism unit, had previously been a driver of senior police officials and was not trained in combatting terrorism.

Various accounts from other officers and video footage illustrated that the inexperienced police officer panicked when a Molotov cocktail engulfed the police vehicle in which he was sitting.

A group of protesters were clashing with riot police and threw a Molotov cocktail at the police vehicle, setting it ablaze. Several police officers exited the armored vehicle and, with the help of locals, were able to extinguish the fire.

In his testimony, the officer said that he was in shock because of the fire. An İstanbul Governor's Office document showed that he returned to the vehicle to retrieve his gun and, despite warnings from his colleagues, began to shoot in the air.

According to witness accounts, he fired once or twice in the direction of a nearby cemevi, where Kurt was present for the funeral.

Mahmut Kurnaz (Cihan/Today's Zaman)