Two perpetrators sentenced to 25 years over murder of musician

ANKARA

In the case of musician Onur Şener, who was killed on Oct. 2, 2022, in a bar where he performed, the court has sentenced two perpetrators to 25 years in prison for deliberate murder with time off for good behavior.

Şener, working at an entertainment venue in the capital Ankara, was killed by two people with whom he argued on the grounds that he did not know the song they requested. The incident drew huge reactions from the public while messages of condolence poured in from social media accounts.

In the final hearing held on July 5, which was also followed by some members of the parliament, the court firstly sentenced perpetrators İlker Karakaş and Ali Gündüz to life imprisonment for the crime of deliberate killing.

Applying a reduction for good behavior, the court reduced their sentence to 25 years.

The court acquitted the other three defendants due to insufficient evidence. The court also ruled for the release of the detained defendant Semih Soyalp.

Defendant Gözde Gündüz claimed that she was subjected to both physical and verbal violence by musician Şener.

Soyalp also stated that he experienced victimization due to the incident.

Karakaş claimed that after the argument inside the bar, Şener attacked them "in a frenzy." Gündüz stated, "Onur threw a punch at İlker. İlker hit Onur on the head with a beer glass. I did not engage in any actions that would cause harm."

The sister of Şener reacted to the defendants' accusations against Şener during their defenses. She reminded that there were severe signs of assault on the musician's face when he died.