27.06.2026 12:12
In the retrial of the case concerning the death of 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir, whose lifeless body was found 18 days after she went missing in Ağrı in 2018, the detained suspect uncle Yusuf Aydemir was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional murder'. While the 6 defendants tried without detention were acquitted, the mother and father did not attend the hearing.
The verdict was announced in the retrial regarding the death of Leyla Aydemir in Ağrı.
MOTHER AND FATHER DID NOT ATTEND THE HEARING At the hearing in the Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court, the unarrested defendants A.A, Y.A, B.D, H.D, M.A.A., and the party lawyers were present. The arrested defendant, uncle Yusuf Aydemir, attended the hearing from the prison where he is held via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). The unarrested defendant M.A., as well as Leyla's mother Şükran Aydemir and father Nihat Aydemir, did not attend the hearing.
PROSECUTOR SOUGHT CONVICTION The public prosecutor renewed the opinion on the merits presented in the previous session and requested conviction for the unarrested defendants M.A.A. and B.D., and the arrested defendant Yusuf Aydemir.
"I AM INNOCENT" In his defense against the opinion on the merits, defendant Yusuf Aydemir stated, "I swear to God, I have no crime or sin. We have been framed. It doesn't matter if it's my child or his child (Nihat). I take refuge in justice." When asked for their final statements, the defendants denied the accusations and requested acquittal.
UNCLE SENTENCED TO AGGRAVATED LIFE IMPRISONMENT The court panel, which concluded the case, sentenced uncle Yusuf Aydemir to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of "intentional killing."
Yusuf Aydemir ACQUITTAL DECISION FOR UNARRESTED DEFENDANTS The panel also sentenced Yusuf Aydemir to 6 years in prison for the crime of "depriving a person of liberty" and decided that the defendant's detention should continue along with the verdict.
The court decided to separately acquit the other unarrested defendants A.A, Y.A, B.D, H.D, M.A.A., and M.A. due to lack of evidence for the crimes attributed to them.
After the hearing, when Yusuf Aydemir's family reacted to the decision, police intervened and dispersed the group.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE In Ağrı, on June 15, 2018, 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir went missing in the village of Bezirhane, where she had gone with her family to visit her grandfather for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. A search was initiated, and her lifeless body was found 18 days later, 2 kilometers from the settlement, near a stream located by the road leading to the city center, among trees. The child's body, which showed no signs of beatings or wounds, was buried in Bezirhane village.
Following the incident, a case was filed against 7 defendants regarding little Leyla's death at the Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court. In the verdict hearing held on October 2, 2020, in this court, the arrested defendant uncle Yusuf Aydemir was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "intentional killing" and 4 years in prison for "depriving a person of liberty through force and deception," while the other defendants Y.A, B.D, H.D, M.A, M.A.A., and A.A. were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
REGIONAL COURT OF APPEALS OVERTURNED THE LOCAL COURT'S DECISION The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Appeals, which reviewed the file, stated that evidence free from all doubt is required to impose a penalty and pointed out various procedural deficiencies, overturning the local court's decision for all defendants. The court, which overturned the local court's decision on both substantive and procedural grounds, also decided to release Yusuf Aydemir.
An objection filed against this decision by the Erzurum Regional Court of Appeals Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on January 4, 2021, was also rejected by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Regional Court of Appeals. The Presidential Board of the Erzurum Regional Court of Appeals, which reviewed the file, found the 1st Criminal Chamber's reversal decision to be legally sound.
Following the reversal decision, on October 8, 2021, the Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court ruled to acquit all retried defendants due to insufficient evidence.
The file, reviewed upon objection, was found legally sound by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Appeals.
The Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office found the acquittal decision for the 7 retried defendants to be contrary to law and requested the annulment of the verdict, and the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation also overturned the decision regarding the defendants.
Meanwhile, in the new investigation into Leyla Aydemir's death, the child's uncle, aunt, paternal grandmother, and aunt were detained on charges of "destroying, concealing, and altering crime evidence."