An appeals court in Istanbul overturned the conviction of police officer Cengiz Yıldız charged with negligently murdering Nigerian immigrant Festus Okey under detention in 2007, recommending that the convict ought to be charged with murder.
According to Radikal newspaper, while the court sentenced Festus Okey to 4 years and 2 months of prison in 2011, Prosecutor Ali Özdeş remarked that the convict ought to be sentence to 20 years of prison for murder.
"The suspected police officer pointed the gun towards Festus Okey in order to interrogate, scare and satisfy his ego while being completely aware of the risks that it could result in killing the detainee," the prosecutor said in a statement.
On August 20, 2007, Festus Okey was found dead in a cell in Beyoğlu district police department. In December 2011, the court sentenced Cengiz Yıldız, a police officer who was on his shift at the time of the incident, to 4 years as 2 months of prison for "negligently murdering Festus Okey.
The trial process, however, caused several controversies with the suspected police officer remaining on active duty, the disappearance of the shirt Festus Okey wore at the day of the incident and the prosecution against local immigrant rights organizations which criticized or demanded to be a part of investigation. (ÇT)
