Up to 9 years in jail sought for officer who shot and killed student in Diyarbakır

Duvar English

A prison sentence of between three and nine years is being sought for a police officer who shot and killed university student Kemal Kurkut in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in 2017.

Kurkut was killed during the Newroz spring celebrations, and photos emerged of the young man running shirtless with a bottle of water in his hands while police followed behind closely with their weapons drawn.

At the most recent hearing in the trial against police officer Y.S., the defendant said he did not fire the shot that killed Kurkut and rejected the charges against him, which were listed as “death resulting from negligence.”

However, a report prepared by the Gendarmerie General Command determined that the bullet in Kurkut's body was fired from Y.S.'s gun.

Prosecutors indicated that the fact Kurkut was shirtless made it clear that he was not strapped with a bomb and that the officer knew this, yet still fired the shots that killed him.

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