The General Assembly of the Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation has ordered the release of Hakan Aysal, according to A Haber.
Hakan Aysal was previously sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the killing of his seven-month pregnant wife, Semra Aysal, at a cliffside in Muğla’s Fethiye district. The high court decided this during the appellate review process. It ends the imprisonment of Aysal. He had been behind bars since November 21, 2020.
The case centers on an incident on June 19, 2018, at Butterfly Valley in Fethiye. Semra Aysal fell about 300 meters from a cliff while attempting to take photographs with her husband, according to reports by KARAR. Emergency teams dispatched to the area determined that she had died from the fall. Her unborn child died too.
Investigators grew suspicious upon discovering facts. Hakan Aysal had taken out a 400,000-lira personal accident insurance policy naming himself as beneficiary shortly before his wife’s death, as reported by Evrensel.net. Aysal was detained and placed under arrest on November 21, 2020.
The prosecutor accused Aysal of premeditated murder of a relative during the trial at the Fethiye 1st Heavy Penal Court. The court convicted Aysal of “aggravated murder of a close relative with premeditation”. It sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment by majority vote. The court president dissented and voted for an acquittal, according to Haber Kenti.
Aysal denied the accusations during the proceedings. He said that his wife had asked him to take a picture. He said that he went to fetch their bags containing her phone which were located about two meters away. He said that upon returning he found she was gone.
The victim’s family attorney pointed out a contradiction. A photograph sent to relatives just ten minutes prior showed the bag and phone beside them. When questioned about the insurance policy, Aysal said that he was involved in extreme sports.
He said that a bank employee filled out the paperwork. “Poliçeyi çok incelemedim. Bankacı doldurdu. Ben de eşime imzalatıp getirdim. Böyle bir maddenin olduğunu bilmiyordum,” Aysal said.
The General Assembly ruled to overturn the conviction and release Aysal. Defense counsel Mehmet Buğra Çiçek said that his client had not committed the crime of intentional homicide against his spouse, according to CNN Türk.
Çiçek said that the dissenting opinions written by the local court president supported their defense. He said that two judges from the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation also supported it. He added that the objections raised by the Office of the Supreme Court Prosecutor supported them.
