Man who stabbed Turkish journalist over snowball fight gets life imprisonment
ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency
A shopkeeper who stabbed journalist Nuh Köklü to death in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul after a snowball reportedly hit his shop’s window during a snowball fight involving the journalist and his friends was given life imprisonment on May 27.The Anatolia 5th Court of Serious Crimes sentenced shopkeeper Serkan Azizoğlu to life in prison on “voluntary manslaughter” charges.
The court did not reduce Azizoğlu’s sentence for displaying “good conduct.”
However, it acquitted Nazım Coşanar who allegedly aided Azizoğlu in the murder of Köklü in February 2015 on charges of “attempting to intentionally injure” and “helping intentionally murder,” respectively. It said Coşanar had not been proven guilty of the offense.
An Istanbul court arrested Azizoğlu over “voluntary manslaughter” on Feb. 18, 2015.
The indictment prepared by the Anatolia Chief Public Prosecution said Köklü and his close friends were heading to a friend’s place shortly after they met by the bull statue in Kadıköy at 9 p.m. late Feb. 17, 2015.
They whimsically started a snowball fight for fun and one of the snowballs reportedly hit the window of Azizoğlu’s spice shop, it said. In retaliation, Azizoğlu intentionally stabbed and killed Köklü, according to the indictment.
