Deniz Poyraz murder case: Assailant sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment

An ultranationalist assailant stormed the HDP office in İzmir last year, killing party worker Deniz Poyraz.

Ruken Tuncel

Deniz Poyraz murder case: Assailant sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment

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The assailant who killed a Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) worker last year has been sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and nine years in prison.

On June 17, 2021, Onur Gencer stormed the HDP's provincial office in İzmir and shot Deniz Poyraz, the only person in the office at the time.

Attorneys did not attend the final hearing today (December 28) at the Şakran Prison Complex, where the case was transferred to after tensions in previous hearings.

There was a heavy police presence near the prison complex. Buses carrying those who wanted to attend the hearing were stopped at checkpoints as officers performed criminal record checks. There were representatives of women's groups, NGOs and MPs among those who followed the hearing.

Attorneys of the Poyraz family refused to attend the hearing after the presiding judge ordered them to pass through x-ray scanners. The judge also did not change the decision from the previous hearing that attorneys with a document of authorization would not be permitted to attend the hearing.

Erinç Sağkan, head of the Union of Bar Association of Türkiye (TBB), held talks with the court board and the attorneys but to no avail.

The hearing started at 11 a.m., with a one-hour delay and without the presence of the plaintiff's lawyers.

Lawyers staging a sit-in protest outside of the prison complex.

About two hours later, Sağkan told reporters, "Our negotiations have been continuing since the morning. Attorneys are asked to enter the courtroom by passing through the X-ray device. We said we would not accept this.

"Currently, there are only defending lawyers in the courtroom. This picture was a picture that the AKP government has long been wanting: A court hall without lawyers."

The court sentenced Gencer to aggravated life imprisonment for "premeditated intentional killing," 4 years in prison for "damage to property, 2 years in prison for "violating immunity of residence" and 3 years in prison for "violating firearms law."

Özcan Yücel, former head of the İzmir Bar, said, "They are playing a game inside. We will not be a party to this. They feared that the game they were playing would be recorded in court minutes and heard by the public.

"We know that a political case would not happen without the approval of at least a part of the state. For this reason, they are taking the defendant away from us. We are prevented from asking questions to the defendant and revealing the background [of the incident]."

HDP Co-Char Mithat Sancar said, "The history of Türkiye is full of political murders. And the method is the same in all of them. These murders have always been covered up, let alone investigating their backgrounds.

"If the truth was revealed in the previous murders, our friend Deniz Poyraz could have been alive now."

The hearing

When asked about his last words, Gencer repeated his words from his defense, saying, "I held a grudge, I made them bleed. I never regret it. I have nothing more to say."

Announcing its decision, the İzmir 6th Heavy Penal Court sentenced Gencer to aggravated life imprisonment for "premeditated killing," four years in prison for "damage to property," "two years in prison for "violating residential immunity," and three years in prison for "violating the firearms law."

What happened?

Onur Gencer stormed the HDP's İzmir provincial office on June 17 and shot party worker Deniz Poyraz dead. His social media posts revealed that he was a sympathizer of the nationalist Grey Wolves group.

The indictment prepared by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included the finding that Gencer had confessed his crime in the WhatsApp messages after the attack and when leaving the building.

However, according to the indictment, "no one who aided before, during or after the incident or no one who incited the defendant could be found and no evidence could be obtained that he had anny connections with a terrorist organization before or after the incident."

The indictment also to the assailant's "diagnosis with anxiety disorder and mild depressive episodes" in 2016.

Gencer's statement to the police that "My purpose was to harm the PKK. I began searching for the families who supported the PKK. I found the family selling coal in Bayraklı on the internet."

According to the statement he had initially planned to attack the family at their shop on December 31, 2020, but later gave up on the plan after they told him over the phone that they would close the shop earlier than usual due to the new year's eve.

Gencer's statements that he had decided to attack the HDP one day before the incident and that he had shot Poyraz in the head to make sure she died were also in the indictment.

It was also stated in the indictment that Gencer, who stated that he called the phone numbers in the HDP Provincial Building when he came to reconnaissance to carry out a planned attack, but could not reach anyone, decided to attack the day before the incident.

The prosecution demanded an aggravated life imprisonment for Gencer on the charge of "premeditated wilful killing" and up to 7 years in prison on charges of "violating the immunity of workplace" and "damaging the buildings, facilities or property of the political parties or professional organizations."

(RT/VK)

murder deniz poyraz vk onur gencer Denîz Poyraz hdp attack Onûr Gencer

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