16.01.2026 15:41
After new evidence emerged in the investigation into the death of 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir, whose lifeless body was found 18 days after she went missing in Ağrı in 2018, her uncle Yusuf Aydemir, who was taken into custody, has been arrested.
The investigation into the death of 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir, whose lifeless body was found 2 kilometers away from the settlement 18 days after she went missing in the village of Bezirhane, where she went to visit her grandfather with her family on June 15, 2018, during the Ramadan holiday, is ongoing.
4 RELATIVES WERE DETAINED
The chief prosecutor's office, which expanded the investigation, opened a separate file based on new evidence obtained. In the new investigation, Aydemir's uncle, aunt, grandmother, and aunt were detained on charges of "destroying, concealing, and altering evidence of a crime."
UNCLE ARRESTED
While Yusuf Aydemir, who was detained, was arrested, it was decided that the other defendants would be tried without detention. The trial was postponed to February 12.
THE COURT OF CASSATION HAD OVERTURNED THE ACQUITTAL DECISION
In the indictment prepared as a result of the initial investigation conducted by the Ağrı Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was requested that Leyla Aydemir's uncle Yusuf Aydemir, along with Y.A, B.D, H.D, M.A, M.A.A., and A.A., be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "intentional killing of a child or a person who is unable to defend themselves physically or mentally" and up to 14 years in prison for "depriving a person of their liberty in complicity." The acquittal decision given for 7 defendants was overturned by the Court of Cassation.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In Ağrı, on June 15, 2018, a search was initiated for 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir, who went missing while visiting her grandfather with her family in the village of Bezirhane during the Ramadan holiday, and her lifeless body was found 18 days later, 2 kilometers away from the village, near the road leading to the city center, among the trees by the river, with no signs of beating or injury on her body. The child's body was buried in the village of Bezirhane.
After the incident, a case was opened against 7 defendants regarding the death of little Leyla at the Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court. In the decision hearing held in this court on October 2, 2020, detained defendant uncle Yusuf A. was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "intentional killing" and 4 years in prison for "depriving a person of their liberty by force and deceit," while the other defendants Y.A, B.D, H.D, M.A, M.A.A., and A.A. were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The Erzurum Regional Court of Justice 1st Criminal Chamber, which reviewed the file, indicated that there must be evidence beyond all doubt for a conviction and pointed out various procedural deficiencies, overturning the local court's decision for all defendants. The court, which overturned the local court's decision both on the merits and procedurally, also ordered the release of Yusuf A.
This decision was also rejected by the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's objection made on January 4, 2021, by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Regional Court of Justice. The Board of Presidents of the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice, which reviewed the file, found the 1st Criminal Chamber's overturning decision to be lawful.
Following the overturning decision, all defendants were acquitted due to lack of evidence in the retrial conducted by the Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court on October 8, 2021.
The file reviewed upon objection was found to be lawful by the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice 1st Criminal Chamber.
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation deemed the acquittal decision given for the 7 defendants retried to be unlawful and requested the judgment to be overturned.