A court in the southeastern province of Urfa has sentenced Rıdvan Bulunmaz to life imprisonment for killing his wife, Pınar Bulunmaz, after shooting her during an argument inside a car in 2024.
The Siverek Heavy Penal Court initially handed down an aggravated life sentence for “intentional killing of a spouse” but later reduced the penalty by applying a “good conduct” reduction.
MALE VIOLENCE MONITORING REPORT FEBRUARY 2026
Men killed 22 women in February
Citing the defendant’s “lack of criminal record" and "future,” the court commuted the aggravated life sentence to life imprisonment, which carries less isolation and allows for conditional release after 24 years.
Bulunmaz had been detained during the previous hearing due to "risk of flight" after earlier proceedings allowed him to stand trial without arrest.
'An important precedent'
Okan Altekin, a lawyer representing Pınar Bulunmaz’s family, told bianet that the ruling confirmed the court’s finding that the defendant committed intentional murder against his spouse.
“The court established that B. committed the crime of intentional killing of a spouse,” Altekin said. “An expert report from the university and forensic medicine reports revealed that Pınar had been subjected to violence.”
bianet is Monitoring Male Violence
Altekin also noted that the court’s decision not to rely on the defendant’s statements during the investigation was significant. “The defendant had given contradictory accounts since the beginning of the investigation. The court’s refusal to base the verdict on those statements is an important precedent for femicide cases."
Reduction 'unlawful'
While welcoming the conviction, Altekin criticized the sentence reduction, saying, “Although we consider the application of the good conduct reduction to be unlawful, the fact that he was convicted of intentional killing has relieved the public conscience."
Background
Pınar Bulunmaz was killed on Feb 22, 2024, in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa, when her husband shot her during an argument inside a vehicle.
Following the incident, Rıdvan Bulunmaz was arrested but released about three months later under house arrest. He was later fully released under judicial control measures.
The investigation lasted 11 months, after which prosecutors filed an indictment seeking an aggravated life sentence for “intentional killing of a spouse.”
During the first hearing on Feb 12, 2025, security camera footage and forensic reports contradicted the defendant’s claim that the incident was a suicide. The footage showed Pınar Bulunmaz running out of the house while Rıdvan Bulunmaz followed her.
(EMK/VK)
