Turkish former police officer convicted 10 years for murdering unionist by torture

Istanbul – Anadolu Agency

An Istanbul court has convicted former Deputy Police Chief Ahmet Okuducu 10 year’s imprisonment for killing unionist Süleyman Yeter in a police station while in custody in 1999.

Yeter, the educational expert of Limter Union – a member of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK) – was taken into custody March 5, 1999 in an operation against the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Liberation Party (MLKP) and was killed on March 7, 1999.

Okuducu, the suspect, was on the run for 13 years, but was found and arrested in June this year.
The court board on Oct. 22’s trial found the suspect guilty and convicted him to 15 years, then reduced the penalty because the crime was committed by more than one person and others remained missing.
Okuducu was finally sentenced to 10 years.

Okuducu in his last defense denied the murder and said he was not involved in the questioning of Yeter and asked to be released.

Defense lawyer Ali Çelik opposed the forensic medicine report for lacking necessary documentation.

Çelik said the murdered Yeter’s tissue sample from his nails was not taken during the autopsy, which he said was a key mistake. Çelik asked the court board to repeat forensic medicine reports.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) fined Turkey 110,000 euros to be awarded to Yeter’s family Jan. 13, 2009 for violating the European Convention on Human Rights Article 2, the “right to life.”