MARDİN - The head of the ranger Şükrü Akçay, who killed the shepherd Musa Çelik in Midyad, was released after 20 months of detention despite being sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison.

 

The case brought against the head ranger Şükrü (Şirin) Akçay and his brothers Veysi and Mahsum Akçay, who were arrested for the murder of shepherd Musa Çelik on November 21, 2021 in the rural neighborhood of Mesken in the Mêdyad (Midyat) district of Mardin, was settled on September 29, 2022.

 

The court sentenced the head guard Şükrü Akçay to life imprisonment and reduced the sentence to 12 years and 6 months on allegations of "unjust provocation" and "good behavior". The court sentenced Veysi Akçay to 1 year and 8 months for "threatening with a gun under unjust provocation" and acquitted Mahsum Akçay. While Veysi and Mahsum Akçay were released, it was decided to continue the detention of Şükrü Akçay.

 

In the justification of its decision, the Midyat High Criminal Court claimed that the defendant Şükrü Akçay had no intent to kill, and cited "possible effects on the future of the accused" for the reduction in the sentence.

 

THE RELEASE OF 'LONG ARREST'

 

Akçay's lawyer took the decision to the 2nd Penal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice, which is a higher court. The court decided to release Akçay. Using the 20-month period of arrest as the reason for release, the court included the following statements in the reasoning of its decision: “The fact that the evidence has been collected and there is no possibility of it being blacked out, the duration of arrest, the possibility of the measure turning into execution in terms of the duration of arrest, the crime of willful killing was committed under the influence of unjust provocation or self-defense. In this regard, he was released by taking into account the possibility of irreparable harm in the appeal legal process, the evaluation that the possibility of escape can be eliminated by judicial control, and the fact that detention is considered a disproportionate measure at this stage (...)"