Man who killed four women in Belgium released in Turkey despite life sentence

Click to read the article in Turkish

Osman Çallı was given a life sentence in Belgium after he had killed four women, including his spouse and pregnant sister, in Gent and severely wounded two people. It has turned out that Çallı has been released in Turkey, where he was extradited to serve his remaining sentence.

The Justice Ministry of Belgium has requested that the authorities in Turkey make a statement about the issue. The relatives of the women and the other aggrieved people have lashed out at the decision.

As reported by BBC Türkçe, Osman Çallı, living in Gent, killed his spouse Teslime Çallı (25) and pregnant sister Hacer Çallı (19) at the night of November 11, 2004. Going to Aalst afterwards, he launched an armed attack on his ex-spouse, mother-in-law and a man at home. While his ex-spouse and mother-in-law died, the man from Belgium was severely wounded.

On his way back to Gent, Çallı's vehicle had a technical failure; he took a woman hostage at gunpoint.

Going to the house of Biçer Erbil, whom he alleged to be having an affair with his spouse, Osman Çallı severely wounded him as well.

Turning himself in to the police, Çallı alleged that it was an "honor" killing and it turned out that he was previously sentenced to 15 months in prison for kidnapping their son from his spouse from Belgium.

When the trial ended four years later, Osman Çallı was sentenced to life imprisonment. Five years after his conviction, Çallı made an application and requested that he serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey.

Extradited to Turkey on June 28, 2013, Çallı was erased from the national forensic registry of Belgium in 2014.

Free since 2020

It has turned out that Osman Çallı, who served three years in prison in Turkey, has been free since 2020. Speaking to the press in Belgium, his lawyer Ergun Top has said that Çallı got "semi-freedom", which means "he was put on supervised release on November 10, 2019."

Since 2020, he has been totally free. Top has said, "In Turkey, you may be free after serving two fifths of your sentence. The release is not about the amnesty of the President, but about the Turkish legal system."

'Shameful and inexplicable'

When a reporter from Belgium's VTM called Çallı, he said, "I enjoy sun, sea and beach here. I served my sentence for 15 years. I have started a new life here. I will have a son soon. I want to be left alone now."

Christoph D'Haese, the lawyer of Henri De Cooman, who was shot by Çallı and survived, and deputy of New Flemish Alliance Party (NVA), has defined Çallı's release while he should have been serving his sentence for killing four women as "shameful and inexplicable".

"That person attacked and massacred four women by approaching them with a sense of honor. Çallı also made their relatives go through inexpressible sorrows. Such a person deserves a life sentence, not even a day less than that," the MP has criticized the situation further.

Gözden kaçan bir haber var. Kısaca anlatmaya çalışacağım. Osman Çallı 2004'te Belçika'da biri hamile 4 kadını katlediyor. Çallı idam cezası olmadığı için ömür boyu hapis cezası alıyor. 2013 yılında cezasının kalan kısmını Türkiye'de + @KadinCinayeti #osmancalli pic.twitter.com/YxqYCWdflk

— Ufuk Lüker (@ufukluker) February 14, 2022

'We requested information from Turkey'

The Ministry of Justice of Belgium has stated that Turkey has not officially informed them about the release of Çallı. In a statement released by the Ministry, it has been indicated, "We currently do not have official information about the situation of Çallı. We have asked for information from the Turkish authorities. We are waiting for an answer."

Statement by prosecutor's office

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has released a written statement amid the news reports regarding the incident.

The statement of the office has recalled that O.Ç. was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of "deliberate killing, attempted killing, jeopardizing public safety and aggravated plunder" in the trial heard by the High Criminal Court of Oost-Vlaanderen on January 1, 2009.

Sharing details about the process leading up to the defendant's extradition to Turkey, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has indicated that he stood trial before the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court as part of the transformation (adaptation) trial so that the execution of his sentence could begin in Turkey. According to the statement, defendant O.Ç. was given separate life sentences for killing four people and given other prison sentences on the other charges on November 30, 2012.

At this point, the statement of the office has noted that "as the sentence to be given by the local court in Turkey should not exceed the one given by the local court in Belgium, it was ruled that the sentence of the defendant should be executed as per the ruling in Belgium".

According to the office, if the sentence of O.Ç. had been executed in the country, he would have been released on June 28, 2015. Referring to the Law no. 647 on Execution of Punishments in Turkey, the office has said that he was released with the Judicial Measure of Supervised Release on October 11, 2019 and released on probation on October 10, 2020.

The statement has stressed that the related proceedings of execution were carried out by considering the principles of immediate application of international and domestic law, noting that the news and posts suggesting that the execution of the sentence was not carried out or the person was released as per the new legal amendments do not reflect the truth. (EMK/SD)

* Photo: Emre Orman/csgorselarsiv.org