Hearing of 'Dirty Kurds homicide' to be held on May 29th
ANTALYA (DİHA) - The hearing of case started regarding the death of Mahir Çetin after he was attacked by a racist group of 15 persons on 3 September 2014 in the Kaş district of Antalya province will be held on May 29th.
The indictment prepared by the prosecutor’s office demands a sentence for Mehmet Ali Çakmak (24) out of 7 accused - of whom Çakmak is in custody -, for “premeditated murder” and for the other “participation in the crime” was submitted to the court.
20 year-old Mahir Cetin, who was working at a hotel in Kaş when he was attacked by a racist group of 15 persons because he spoke to his cousin in Kurdish. The group shouted “Dirty Kurds” during the attack. While Vedat Cetin was knocked unconscious when a beer bottle hit him on the head, Mahir Cetin was taken to hospital with a brain haemorrhage due to the heavy blows he received and later died.
In the investigation started after his death, the police detained some of the people who took part in the attack. While Mehmet Ali Cakmak was arrested, the other detainees were released.
The prosecutor’s office obtained camera records of the incident, which shows Mahir Cetin and his cousin Vedat Cetin speaking to each other in Kurdish while they were leaving a bar that they went to after work. 1 of the persons from the group had an argument with them because they were speaking Kurdish, and then ran towards the cousins and attacked them. Then a group of 15 persons continued the attack.
Following the investigation, the prosecutor’s office prepared its indictment for the 7 accused, one of whom is in custody. The indictment was submitted to Elmalı Serious Criminal Court. According to the information provided by the lawyer of the Cetin family, Hasan Elban, the indictment asks for a sentence for “premeditated murder” for the accused, Mehmet Ali Çakma, Sefa Gömcü, Arif Bozdağ and Gökhan Güney.
'Mahir Çetin homicide is hate crime'
For the other three accused a sentence for “participating in the crime” is requested. Lawyer of family and Contemporary Jurists' Union (ÇHD) Antalya Branch Secretary Lawyer Hasan Kemal Elban drew attention on the contradictory testimonies of the suspects. Elban said the homicide of Mahir Çetin was a hate crime, so the penalty must be aggravated.
(nt)
