An İstanbul court sentenced four police officers to six years in prison each for destroying official documents in the retrial concerning the death of Onur Yaser Can. Can died by suicide in 2010 following allegations of torture and sexual abuse during police custody.
The İstanbul 41st Heavy Penal Court delivered the verdict for officers Hakan Aydın, Muhammet Olgun, Onur Ülker, and Yunus Başar. The group included a former chief inspector who has since been dismissed.
The court found the defendants guilty of destroying, damaging, or hiding official documents under Article 205 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The defendants were previously sentenced to six years, five months, and 15 days in 2023. However, the 18th Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice overturned those convictions. The appeals court had ruled that the local court failed to apply discretionary sentence reductions for good conduct.
What happened?
Can, a 28-year-old architect, was detained by narcotics police in Harbiye, İstanbul, on Jun 2, 2010, for allegedly purchasing cannabis. While at the Narcotics Branch Directorate, he was subjected to strip searches, torture, and sexual harassment. His medical release report was illegally prepared in the presence of the officers accused of the abuse.
Following his release, officers repeatedly called Can to the station under the pretext of correcting date errors in his statements. He was pressured to become an informant and testify against others. Can committed suicide by jumping from his balcony on Jun 23, 2010, three weeks after his initial detention.
Before his death, Can wrote a detailed account of his experiences at the request of his friends. "I was stripped naked in custody. They told me to lean against the wall," Can wrote. He described being forced to wait in a crouched position while listening to recordings of someone else screaming and begging the police.
"I was slapped and verbally insulted," he stated, adding that he was forced to sign a different statement and pressured to cooperate as an informant.
The legal battle led by Can’s family faced significant obstacles. Prosecutors initially issued a decision of non-prosecution regarding the torture allegations. A subsequent case for forgery resulted in 30-month sentences for two other officers.
The tragedy deeply affected the family. His mother, Hatice Can, died by suicide in 2014 using the same method as her son. His father, Mevlüt Can, died in Oct 2019 at the age of 62 due to internal bleeding. His sister, Ezgi Sevgi Can, remains the sole surviving family member pursuing justice.
Evidence issues hampered the proceedings for years. It was revealed that digital copies of Can’s police statements had been altered or rendered inaccessible. An expert witness, Zafer Kökdemir, admitted to breaking the original hard drive containing the records, citing security reasons.
The current case against the four officers was initiated after an appeals court overturned the İstanbul Governor's Office decision to deny permission for their prosecution. The officers were tried for official document forgery and destruction, while the expert witness faced charges of providing a false expert report. (HA/VK)
