Police officers fined for killing 2 people for ‘disobeying stop warning’

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The court has given its ruling in the trial of police officers over the killing of Barış Kerem and Oğuzhan Erkul in İstanbul's Gazi Neighborhood.

Four police officers, not arrested over the killing, have been sentenced to pay 24,300 lira (approx. 3,440 USD) for the incident that happened in 2017. In the prosecutor's opinion as to the accusations, a prison sentence of 3 years to 22.5 years was demanded for the police officers.

'It was deliberate killing'

Attorney Seyit Sönmez has spoken to T24 news website about the issue. "If such a sentence can be given in a case which is so obvious and cannot be debated legally, these cannot be rulings given by prosecutors and judges by interpreting the law. 23 bullets were fired on the vehicle. This is deliberate murder, this is culpable murder," the attorney has said.

He has further noted that "this sentence means telling them, 'You just acted a bit carelessly while doing your duty and it is understandable'."

Raising concerns over impunity, Sönmez has said, "They have given such a sentence probably because they do not want the police officers to be expelled from profession. So that they can continue working..."

The attorney has also announced that they, as the attorneys of the families, will appeal to the Appeals Court and, if not, to the Constitutional Court and to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

'They put a price on my son

Seyran Erkul, the mother of late Oğuzhan Erkul, has also spoken to Mezopotamya Agency (MA) after the hearing:

"Those who say that there is justice must hear this. I trusted it for years and years. I committed my son to the ground; I trusted them, thinking that my son's death would not be in vain. They put a price on my child. Is its a crime to play the saz? Is it a crime to sing folk songs?

"Gazi neighborhood is apparently to be blamed. The police apparently have clean hands. My son, playing the saz and singing folk songs in the park of his neighborhood, is apparently the guilty one.

"I have not been alive for four years. His little brother has been asking for four years, 'Where is my big brother?' I have still been unable to answer his question. My hopes have all fallen apart."

Reminding the reporters that 36 bullets were fired on the vehicle, the mother has asked, "Where is justice? Tell us, what is our crime? When I ask what offense my son committed, they cannot give an answer."

'They mocked us'

Melike Taş, the mother of Barış Kerem, has also said, "Whenever I went to my son's grave, I promised him that his death would not be in vain. I told him that I did not give up. They have mocked us. As they are not their sons, how good a sentence they have given!"

What happened?

On April 14, 2017, police officers opened fire on a vehicle at the exit of the City Forest in Gazi Neighborhood in İstanbul.

There were five children at the ages of 15 to 18 in the vehicle. While Oğuzhan Erkul and Barış Kerem lost their lives by the bullets fired by the police, three children were wounded in the incident.

At the first hearing of the trial, the defendant police officer stated that he had mistaken the black case covering the saz (a traditional string instrument) standing between the legs of the person sitting on the right front seat of the vehicle for a long-barreled weapon.

Following an investigation carried out with confidentiality orders and broadcast/ publication bans, a lawsuit was filed against the defendant police officers E.E., K.A., Z.S. and D.B. on charge of "causing the death and injury of one or more persons with conscious negligence." (EKN/SD)