29.10.2026 21:39
On March 8, 2025, in the Antakya district of Hatay, a container where workers were staying was set on fire, and 19-year-old İbrahim Yaşar lost his life, while his cousin Mehmet Ali Yaşar was seriously injured. The Hatay 4th Heavy Penal Court sentenced the defendants Mehmet Kırnaz and Bilal Sanuk to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of premeditated intentional killing by burning, and to 19 years' imprisonment each for the crime of attempted intentional killing. Father Vedat Yaşar said they had been waiting for this moment for 597 days.
In the Antakya district of Hatay, a verdict has been issued in the case concerning the incident in which İbrahim Yaşar (19) lost his life and his cousin Mehmet Ali Yaşar was seriously injured after the container where workers were staying was set on fire. Detained defendants Mehmet Kırnaz and Bilal Sanuk were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and 19 years in prison each. It was learned that at the first hearing the defendants claimed they were under the influence of drugs and alcohol during the incident.
The incident occurred around 06:00 on March 8, 2025, in Emek Neighborhood of Antakya district. İbrahim Yaşar, who had come from Mersin to Hatay some time earlier to start work at the construction company where his relatives worked, spoke with his father Vedat Yaşar on the phone on the evening of March 7 and then slept in the container where he was staying with his cousin Mehmet Ali Yaşar. According to the allegation, Mehmet Kırnaz and Bilal Sanuk came to the area toward morning, set fire to the container where the workers were staying, and fled. İbrahim Yaşar, who was trapped among the flames in the fire, lost his life, while his cousin Mehmet Ali Yaşar was seriously injured.
THEY CLAIMED THEY HAD TAKEN DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Mehmet Kırnaz and Bilal Sanuk, who were taken into custody after the incident, were arrested. At the first hearing of the case held at the Hatay 4th High Criminal Court, the defendants claimed that they had taken drugs and alcohol before the incident. The defendants stated that they left the scene after the container caught fire and argued that they had no intent to kill.
AGGRAVATED LIFE IMPRISONMENT AND 19 YEARS IN PRISON EACH
At the final hearing of the case held at the Hatay 4th High Criminal Court, detained defendants Mehmet Kırnaz and Bilal Sanuk participated via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) from the prisons where they were held. The parties' lawyers and the families of İbrahim Yaşar, who lost his life, and Mehmet Ali Yaşar, who was injured, were also present at the hearing.
The defendants requested their acquittal in their defense. The court panel sentenced the two defendants to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'premeditated intentional killing by burning' and to 19 years in prison each for the crime of 'attempted intentional killing'.
FATHER: WE HAVE WAITED FOR THIS MOMENT FOR 597 DAYS
Speaking in front of the courthouse after the verdict, İbrahim Yaşar's father Vedat Yaşar said they had been waiting for this moment for 597 days. Stating that justice had been served with the verdict, Yaşar made the following assessment:
'The two murderers received aggravated life imprisonment and an additional 19 years without reduction. Thank God, a verdict has been issued that will set an example for all our children. Thank God, justice has been served. We requested an investigation into the oil company that supplied gasoline in a jerrycan and an examination of the company's security vulnerability. God willing, this will also be done.'
Yaşar stated that at this stage of the legal process, the defendants' being sentenced was important for them, and said: 'The punishment of these two murderers has somewhat relieved us. From now on, whether it is 8 or 9 in the evening, or 10, I will be able to go to my son's grave with my head held high.'