Appeals against defendant’s release in Pınar Gültekin feminicide case

* Photo: JinNews

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Shortly after the Muğla 3rd Heavy Penal Court ruled that Mertcan A., one of the two arrested defendants, should be released from prison in Pınar Gültekin feminicide case on February 15, both the prosecutor's office and the family's attorney have lodged an appeal against the release.

CLICK - Pınar Gültekin feminicide case: One defendant released

Standing trial for killing university student Pınar Gültekin in Muğla, defendants Cemal Metin A. and his brother Mertcan A. had their third hearing at the Muğla 3rd Heavy Penal Court on February 15.

The court ruled for the release of Mertcan A. with judicial control measures and international travel ban as "the evidence had been collected and, therefore, there was no risk of spoliation of evidence on his part."

Two objections against his release

Following this ruling of release for one of the arrested defendants, the Muğla Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has appealed against the ruling by underlining that "not all evidence has been entirely collected in the trial and the released defendant poses a flight risk."

Accordingly, the chief public prosecutor's office has demanded that an arrest warrant be issued against Mertcan A.

'He was at the crime scene'

Rezan Epözdemir, the attorney of the Gültekin family, has also applied to the Muğla 1st Heavy Penal Court and objected to his release.

Raising concerns about the contradictory statements of Mertcan A. at the gendarmerie station and before the court, attorney Epözdemir has referred to the allegations that the defendant was at the crime scene on the day and time of the incident, considering the HTS records, witness statements and the defendant's contradictory remarks.

What happened?

Pınar Gültekin (27), a student of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University in the Mediterranean region, was found dead on July 21, 2020, five days after she had got missing. First Cemal Metin A., then his brother Mertcan A. have been arrested as part of the investigation into her death.

A lawsuit has been filed against Cemal Metin A. on charge of "killing with monstrous feeling or by tormenting" and against Mertcan A. for "destroying, hiding or tampering with criminal evidence."

While Cemal Metin A. now faces aggravated life sentence on the offense charged, his brother faces up to 5 years in prison.

Mertcan A. was released at his third hearing on February 15, 2021. Both the prosecutor's office and the attorney of the Gültekin family appealed against the defendant's release a day later. (EMK/SD)