Pınar Gültekin's murderer sentenced to aggravated life in prison

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An Izmir appeal court has sentenced Cemal Metin Avcı to aggravated life in prison who brutally killed Pınar Gültekin back in June 2020.

Avcı’s sentence was previously reduced to 23 years in prison due to "unjust provocation" by a Muğla court. The court's decision had stirred huge reaction among women organizations, political parties, and public figures. 

An appeal court has lifted Avcı’s sentence reduction and sentenced him to aggravated life in prison over the charges of “Murder by torment and design of it with monstrous feeling,” Demirören News Agency reported on March 10.

The appeal court also sentenced his brother Mertcan Avcı to four years in prison over the charges of “Hiding, destroying and changing criminal evidence.” 

The lower court had acquitted Mertcan Avcı on June 20, 2022.

The lawyer of the Gültekin Family, Rezan Epözdemir, said on Twitter that “Justice was served, albeit belatedly. Unjust provocation reduction has been lifted.”

Gültekin's death had made the headlines in 2020 with its gory details. The young woman's ex-boyfriend Avcı initially denied committing the murder but later confessed to the crime as footage showed him near the site of the murder. After brutally killing her, the murderer placed her body in a barrel, set fire to her and then poured concrete in. Avcı was believed to have received the help of his family in these actions.

Femicides are a grave problem in Turkey, where women get killed or beaten every single day.

Data shared by We Will Stop Femicides Platform reveals the extent of the problem, with at least 334 women were murdered by men in 2022, while 245 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances over the same period.