Police officer killing protest bystander in 2014 sentenced to 2 years and 6 months
Uğur Kurt was shot and killed by a police bullet during the intervention against the students protesting for Berkin Elvan, who died during the Gezi protests, as a protest bystander at Okmeydanı Djemevi on May 14, 2014.
In the final hearing of the retrial in the case of Kurt following the "violation decision" by the Constitutional Court (AYM) held today (March 1) the police officer Sezgin K., who had previously been fined 12,100 lira, was this time sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison.
In the hearing held at the İstanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court, police officer Sezgin K., who was tried without detention, participated in the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).
Uğur Kurt's wife, Narin Kurt, and their lawyers were also present at the hearing.
Police officer to be retried in the case of protest bystander shot dead during Gezi Park protests
Kurt family's lawyer, Turgut Kazan, stated that judgment cannot be made based on "simple negligence," emphasizing that Korkmaz should have foreseen the possibility of deviation from the shooting target at the time of the incident.
Uğur Kurt's wife, Narin Kurt, said, "I demand justice for randomly shooting and causing my husband's death. I demand justice for my son, who lost his father and for my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who couldn't bear the pain and passed away. I demand justice for my son who will never see his father again."
Defendant police officer Sezgin Korkmaz stated that he leaves the discretion to the court and did not wish to say anything else.
The court panel ruled the annulment of its initial judgment given in 2017 within the scope of the Constitutional Court's violation of rights decision.
The court stated that the task of deciding on the nature of the offense does not belong to the Constitutional Court and it did not make a violation of rights decision in this regard.
Based on these reasons, the court initially sentenced the defendant police officer to 3 years in prison for the crime of "causing death by negligence" in accordance with the Constitutional Court decision.
Considering the defendant's attitude and behavior during the hearings as mitigating factors,the panel reduced the sentence to 2 years 6 months in prison. (RT/PE)