44 Counts Life Sentence for Mardin Massacre

The Çorum High Criminal Court in the south-eastern province of Mardin decided this week the case on the bloodbath in the village of Bilge from 4 May 2009 which left 44 people dead.

The case was transferred to the city of Çorum for security reasons. Six detained defendants received a 44-fold life sentence without parole, namely Mehmet Çelebi, his brother Abdülhakim Çelebi, Mehmet Emin Çelebi, Mehmet Sait Çelebi, Ömer Çelebi and Süleyman Çelebi. Underage defendant M.Ş.C. was sentenced to 44 counts of 15 years imprisonment. Ahmet Çelebi, in whose house weapons were found, was handed down a 15 years' sentence. Un-detained defendant Mustafa Çelebi who shot into the air during the attack was sentenced to imprisonment of six months.

Four people on trial un-detained were acquitted.

On the night of 4th May at 9.30 pm a group of armed people dashed into the engagement ceremony of Sevgi Çelebi and her cousin Habip Arı. Sevgi Çelebi was the daughter of former village headman Cemil Çelebi. A total of 44 people were killed, among them also the bride and the groom. After the attack the perpetrators shot holes in the tires of the vehicles of the village so that they could not be followed. (TK/VK)