05.11.2026 11:00
The aggravated life sentence handed down to Yunus Emre Geçti for killing police officer Şeyda Yılmaz in Istanbul was upheld by the Court of Cassation.
The aggravated life imprisonment sentence handed down by the local court to murder suspect Yunus Emre Geçti, who killed police officer Şeyda Yılmaz while on duty in Ümraniye, Istanbul, has been upheld by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. The 20-year prison sentence given for injuring the other police officer, however, was overturned for reconsideration.
The Court of Cassation has put the final point in the judicial process concerning the painful incident that occurred in Istanbul's Ümraniye district on September 22, 2024, and plunged Turkey into mourning. The sentence of Yunus Emre Geçti, who killed police officer Şeyda Yılmaz by resisting the teams trying to arrest him after he escaped from the police station, has become final.
HE FLED AND TOOK THE POLICE OFFICER'S WEAPON
The bloody incident occurred on the night of September 22, 2024. It was determined that Yunus Emre Geçti, who escaped from the police station where he had been taken into custody on suspicion of motorcycle theft, was in the Ihlamurkuyu Neighborhood of Ümraniye.
A scuffle broke out between the resisting defendant and the security forces during the arrest operation by police teams dispatched to the area. During the scuffle, Geçti seized a police officer's weapon and opened fire randomly at those around him and at the police officers. In the incident, police officer Şeyda Yılmaz was killed, while a police officer and the defendant's mother were injured.
THE LOCAL COURT HAD SENTENCED HIM TO AGGRAVATED LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Yunus Emre Geçti, whose trial began at the Anadolu 26th High Criminal Court on January 8, 2025 following his capture, was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of “intentional killing.”
The court also sentenced the defendant to:
- 20 years for the crime of “attempted intentional homicide” against the other police officer,
- 3 years on the charge related to his mother's injury,
- 3 years and 9 months of imprisonment for the crime of “resisting officers to prevent them from performing their duty (resistance)” against police officers on duty.
THE COURT OF APPEALS REJECTED THE APPEAL, AND THE FILE WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE COURT OF CASSATION
After the defendant's lawyers objected to the verdict, the file was first transferred to the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice. After the appellate court rejected the appeals on the merits, the file came before the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation for a final decision.
THE COURT OF CASSATION UPHELD THE SENTENCE FOR THE MARTYRED POLICE OFFICER AND OVERTURNED THE INJURY SENTENCE
The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, examining the file, found the aggravated life imprisonment sentence given for the killing of police officer Şeyda Yılmaz to be lawful and upheld it. The High Court, however, overturned the 20-year sentence for “attempted intentional homicide” given in connection with the injury of the other police officer. In its decision, the Court of Cassation found it unlawful to set the sentence at the upper limit and ruled that, considering the degree of the attempt and the severity of the harm caused, the sentence must be reassessed between the lower and upper limits. Defendant Yunus Emre Geçti will stand trial again with respect to the overturned sentence.