08/11/2023 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
In the case of Hande Buse Şeker, there has once again been no verdict. On September 20, the Forensic Medicine Department prepared a report. However, the file was not sent to the court. Attorney Yazıbağlı said: “We are worried about the aftermath of the file.”
The Hande Buse Şeker case, which was reopened after the verdict was overturned, failed to reach a decision in the hearing held on November 6. Since the overturning of the verdict by the Izmir 4th Regional Court in 2021, the forensic crisis has continued. The trial was postponed to December 5th at 10:00 a.m. at the Izmir 4th Heavy Penal Court.
The regional court hadn’t consider the Izmir Forensic Medicine Institution’s report on the other trans woman injured by Hicret sufficient, and requested a new report from the Great Specialization Department of the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution.
The report had been prepared in September 20, however had not been posted
It is revealed that the Forensic Medicine Institution finally prepared the report and uploaded it to the system on September 20, however the file was not sent to the court by post for more than a month. Lawyer Yazıbağlı considers the delay in the transfer of the case file from the Forensic Medicine Institution to the court to be “worrying” and says that the fact that Volkan Hicret is a police officer has an impact on the whole court process and that the delay at the Forensic Medicine Institution raises suspicions that the process is being delayed for Hicret’s release.
What has happened in the case so far?
Hande Buse Şeker was a sex worker trans woman living in İzmir. A police officer named Volkan Hicret killed Hande Buse Şeker with his service weapon at Şeker’s home on January 9, in 2019, while he was off duty. Police officer Volkan Hicret killed Şeker, blackmailed her and sexually assaulted her after the murder. He also injured her friend at home.
A lawsuit was filed at İzmir 4th Heavy Penal Court against the killer police Volkan Hicret. The hearings were carried over self-enclosed for a while. The decision was removed thanks to the objections of the lawyers and reactions. The decision was announced at the eighth hearing in 2020, November, 26.
Volkan Hicret was handed life sentence for murder in first degree and received 21 years imprisonment for qualified sexual assault, 5 years and 6 months for qualified looting thrice, 9 months for injury twice and 2 years for insulting the memory of a person.
The court rejected Hicret’s request for sentence reduction due to unjust provocation and good behavior. The court did not accept the request for an aggravated life sentence by Şeker’s lawyers. Therewith Şeker’s lawyers requested an appeal.
CLICK – Timesheet of Hande Buse Şeker case (in Turkish)
The judgment, which İzmir Regional Court 4th Criminal Department passed, was reversed upon the request of appeal by Young LGBTI+ Association regarding increasing of punishment.
The court; didn’t accept the request about heavy life sentence for first degree murder however demanded increasing of punishment on the grounds of sexual assault, plundering and injury crimes and evaluated the involvement of Ministry of Family and Social Services is contrary to law.
Translated by: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights, women
