Aggravated life sentence sought for murderer of academic

ISTANBUL

An Ankara prosecutor has sought an aggravated life sentence for a law student for killing a research assistant earlier in 2019 at Çankaya University in the capital Ankara.

The second hearing of the case of Ceren Damar took place on Nov. 29, as the prosecutor’s assessment sought aggravated life sentence for suspect İsmail Hikmet on charges of “killing by planning,” “killing with monstrous feelings” and “torturing.”

The prosecutor’s assessment also sought up to eight years imprisonment for the suspect for “threatening with a gun” and “the violation of the firearms law” in connection with the murder.

The indictment submitted to the Ankara 33th Heavy Penal Court said that suspect Hikmet killed Damar on Jan. 2 after the academic caught him cheating in an exam.

The indictment also said that Damar had caught the suspect on another occasion in 2016 cheating again, leading to his suspension from the university for a week.

Following the latest cheating incident on Jan. 2, Hikmet confided in a friend that he would kill Damar, but the friend did not see it likely, according to the indictment.

Hikmet then went to his house, where he picked up the gun of his father, a retired police officer.

Going back to the campus, Hikmet shot Damar in her room twice. Damar fell on the floor before stabbing her 17 times, the indictment said.

The trial was later adjourned until Jan. 24, 2020.

According to figures provided by Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu (We Will Stop Femicides Platform), which keeps a tally of femicides across the country, some 381 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2019.