Feminicide of Şengül: Man given aggravated life sentence

* Image: Social media/ sendika.org

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After the attorneys appealed against the local court verdict in Fatma Şengül feminicide case, the upper court has reversed the verdict and ruled that defendant Zeynal Akbaş shall be given an aggravated life sentence.

At his final hearing, Zeynal Akbaş, arrested pending trial for killing Fatma Şengül in Maltepe, İstanbul on May 20, 2019, was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. However, the court first turned this sentence into a life sentence and, then, reduced it to 18 years in prison.

Both women's rights defenders and the Şengül family denounced this ruling of sentence reduction due to "unjust provocation."

Shortly afterwards, the attorneys appealed against this ruling and took it to the upper court. The İstanbul 1st Regional Administrative Court, the upper court in Kartal, has reversed the local court ruling and ruled that the defendant shall be given an aggravated life sentence.

Açelya Şengül, the daughter of Fatma Şengül, has shared the ruling on her social media account, attaching the note:

"I had been unable to go to my mother's grave for two years. I have now bought flowers and been on my way to her. I would like to thank everyone standing with me and my mother." (EMK/SD)