Man who blinded woman in acid attack may be released

Duvar English

A man who threw acid at a young woman's face, blinding her in one and eye and causing burns, may be released in the next hearing of his trial due to prosecutors requesting less serious charges, according to the woman's lawyer. 

In January in the southern province of Hatay, Ozan Çeltik attacked 19-year-old Berfin Özek with the acid while she was on her way home. The two were formerly a couple and Özek said that they broke up because he was violent and threatening toward her, and had been harassing for a year since the breakup. 

A prosecutor had requested charges of attemped murder for Çeltik, though a separate prosecutor at the hearing determined that since the acid was not thrown into Çeltik's mouth that he should instead be charged with willful injury, which only commands a sentence between 1-3 years in prison, and which could result in Çeltik being released after his next hearing. 

Özek's lawyers insist that Çeltik should be tried on charges of attempted murder, and in her statement Özek said that the attack was planned and that she thought Çeltik was trying to kill her. It will be up to judges to determine what charges Çeltik will be tried with.