Prosecutor demands up to six years for Turkish-Armenian soldier’s murder suspect

DİYARBAKIR – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

A Diyarbakır military prosecutor has demanded two to six years for a suspect private charged with “murder with conscious negligence,” in the murder case of Sevag Balıkçı, a Turkish-Armenian soldier who was killed in suspicious circumstances while performing his military service in 2011.

The Diyarbakır Air Force Command Military Court continued the trial of suspect Kıvanç Ağaoğlu on charges of murder, and of non-commissioned officer Sabrettin Ersöz for “abuse of office through negligence,” on Feb 28.

Cem Halavut, the Balıkçı family’s lawyer, said the witness testimonies should be given one more time as they conflicted each other, and added that the investigation should be expanded. However, the court board denied his demands.

Sevag Balıkçı’s father, Garabet, and mother, Ani Balıkçı, also attended the hearing.

Balıkçı was shot in a gendarmerie station in Batman province by another soldier, Kıvanç Ağaoğlu, with whom he was performing his military service. The incident took place on April 24, 2011, the same date as Armenians mark the anniversary of the events of 1915.