General
Turkish police officer bags six-year sentence for murder of Nigerian man, Festus Okey
A police officer in Turkey, Cengiz Yıldız, was sentenced to six years in prison by for the murder of a Nigerian immigrant, Festus Okey.
Yıldız was sentenced by Turkey’s Constitutional Court who ruled that Okey’s right to life was violated in his murder by police in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu Police Station on Aug. 20, 2007.
According to reports, officer Yıldız who has now been charged with manslaughter shot Okey while in detention and later died in the hospital.
However, it took the system about four years to conclude after the primary piece of evidence regarding the murder was allegedly misplaced: Okey’s shirt.
Without Okey’s shirt, which would show the distance from which he was shot, the case against the police officer who killed the immigrant lasted four years.
Local media (Duvar) revealed that Yıldız never served his prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter, which would have been a mere four years and two months.
Yıldız’s six-year sentence came after a second trial for Okey’s case restarted in 2018, this time with his mother and brother’s involvement, with one of the judges on the case stating that Yıldız should have been charged with 20 years on charges of manslaughter with eventual intent, and the court ruling was appealed by Okey’s attorneys.
A separate application to the Constitutional Court by Okey’s attorneys lead to the ruling that Okey’s right to life was violated and issued damages for the family.
The top court did however did not rule in favour of the attorney’s claims that Okey’s murder was racial discrimination, or that the courts had been lenient toward the defendant, police officer Yıldız.
-
Metro23 hours ago
Fuel queues: Lagos laments traffic jams, threatens unorganized petrol stations
-
News22 hours ago
African countries frustrate Air Peace with high charges – Onyema
-
News19 hours ago
EFCC boss to pay 17-year-old hacker’s school fees
-
News17 hours ago
Nigerians face ‘anointing oil’ price hike amid Olive oil scarcity
-
News19 hours ago
Peter Obi replies Umahi, denies inciting southeast against FG
-
News24 hours ago
2024 UTME results not available on website yet – JAMB
-
News23 hours ago
Obi blames bad road, insecurity as 35 die in Kogi, Enugu
-
News23 hours ago
Zamfara govt under fire for paying teachers ‘meager’ N8,000 salary