Top Turkish appeals court overturns aggravated life sentence for brutal femicide, demands reduction due to ‘provocation’

Turkey’s top appeals court has overturned the aggravated life sentence of Cemal Metin Avcı who brutally murdered Pınar Gültekin back in 2020. The court argued that the provision of “unjust provocation” should be used to reduce the sentence of Avcı.

Monday February 03 2025 07:04 pm

Duvar English

Turkey’s Court of Cassation, the top appeals court in the country, has overturned Cemal Metin Avcı’s aggravated life sentence for brutally killing Pınar Gültekin back in June 2020, the media outlets reported on Feb. 2.

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, but no family members were found guilty by the lower Muğla court.

A lower Muğla court first reduced his sentence to 23 years in prison due to “unjust provocation.”

However, an appeals court overturned this decision and sentenced him to aggravated life in prison in March 2023. The court also sentenced the murderer’s brother Mertcan Avcı to four years in prison.

This time, the Court of Cassation overturned the aggravated life sentence ruled by the appeals court by a vote of three to two.

The court argued that Avcı should be sentenced over the charges of “unqualified intentional murder” or “murder by torture,” not of “premeditated murder and murder by beastly intent.”

In its reasoning, the court argued that Pınar Gültekin “threatened” and “blackmailed” Avcı, so “the provision of unjust provocation occurred.”

However, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation objected to this decision.

Gültekin family’s lawyer Rezan Epözdemir said the court “ascribed sanctity to a memorized and fictionalized defense of unjust provocation that is not supported by the evidence in the file.”

“If the verdict is finalized, the defendant Cemal Metin Avcı will be sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison, and may stay in prison for seven or 11 years in total,” he added.