A juvenile defendant was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Syrian refugee Ahmet Handan El Naif during anti-Syrian attacks last year in Antalya, southern Turkey. on Jul 2, 2024.
The Manavgat 2nd Heavy Penal Court handed down the sentence to R.Ö. for “intentional killing of a minor with monstrous intent.” Another defendant, İ.A., was acquitted due to a lack of conclusive evidence, while Y.Y. received a six-month-and-20-day sentence for “aiding an offender,” which was suspended.
Prosecutors had requested that all three juveniles be convicted as joint perpetrators of the killing. The verdict will be appealed.
Plaintiffs criticize verdict
Ahmet Handan El Naif’s family lawyer, Ebedin Altınkaynak, criticized the ruling in a statement to dokuz8haber news site, arguing that the court failed to consider the broader context of anti-Syrian hate crimes at the time.
“The court ignored the wave of hate crimes targeting Syrians during that period and treated this as an isolated case,” he said. “However, security camera footage clearly shows that all three defendants assisted R.Ö. in the stabbing and helped him flee the scene. In addition, digital evidence shows the defendants were members of social media groups organizing attacks against Syrians.”
Altınkaynak said the decision overlooked the collective nature of the act and described this as “a violation of justice.” He announced plans to appeal the ruling before a higher court.
The incident occurred amid a series of racially motivated attacks against Syrians that began in Kayseri and spread to several provinces. In Serik’s Kökez neighborhood, El Naif was attacked by three individuals who blocked his path after getting off two motorcycles. He was beaten and fatally stabbed on the street.
Police later detained suspects R.Ö., Y.Y., and İ.A., who were found to have prior criminal records. Nationwide, nearly 500 people were detained during the wave of violence targeting Syrians.
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(EMK/VK)
