He was on trial for killing his pregnant wife by pushing her from Butterfly Valley! Hakan Aysal was released

The Supreme Court overturned the aggravated life imprisonment sentence given to the defendant on the grounds that he caused the death of his pregnant wife, Semra Aysal, by pushing her from the cliffs where they climbed to take photographs in Muğla's Fethiye district, and decided to release her.

In the case heard at Fethiye 1st High Criminal Court, the decision was appealed after the defendant was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "premeditated murder of a close relative".

The General Criminal Assembly of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided to release the defendant Hakan Aysal during the appeal review phase of the case file.

Defendant Aysal's lawyer, Mehmet Buğra Çiçek, argued to the AA reporter that his client did not commit the crime of intentional murder against his wife.

Çiçek stated that these issues were clearly stated in the dissenting vote written by the presiding judge in the trial in Fethiye, in the dissenting vote justifications written by two of the judges of the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and in the objection of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and noted the following:

"The General Criminal Assembly of the Supreme Court of Appeals has decided to release my client in its decision as of today. The reason for this release decision made by the General Criminal Assembly is a clear presumption that the unfair aggravated life sentence given to my client has been overturned. My client's 6-year unjust detention, of which approximately 4 years was spent in a solitary cell, has ended as of today. I would like to thank the Turkish judiciary on behalf of myself and my client for this fair and correct decision, albeit late."

WHAT HAPPENED?

Semra Aysal died with her 7-month-old baby in her belly after falling off the cliffs while taking a photo in Butterfly Valley on June 19, 2018. In the investigation launched after the death was found suspicious, Hakan Aysal, who was found to have taken out personal accident insurance worth 400 thousand liras for his wife shortly before the incident, was taken into custody and was arrested on November 21, 2020, for allegedly pushing his wife and causing her death.

In the indictment prepared by the Fethiye Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, aggravated life imprisonment was requested for Aysal, who was alleged to have committed the crime of "premeditated murder of a close relative". The court panel, by majority vote, decided to sentence the defendant to aggravated life imprisonment, while the president of the court annotated the acquittal of the defendant.