A Turkish man who killed four women in Belgium to “cleanse his family’s honour” is now “enjoying the sun, sea, and beach” in his home country after he was extradited to complete his sentence and promptly released on the streets.
Turkish national Osman Calli was sentenced to life behind bars in Belgium for killing four women in 2004.
He was extradited to his home country in 2013 to serve the remainder of his sentence, but was partially released in 2016 and cleared of all charges in 2020, according to newly surfaced information.
BBC Turkish said Calli had only served three years in prison in his home country.
On the evening of 11th November 2004, Calli, who was living in the Belgian city of Ghent, murdered four women, including his pregnant teenage sister, and injured three others.
Calli tied up his wife Teslime, 25, and pregnant sister Hacer, 19, to chairs and shot them dead before burning their bodies.
He then drove to his ex-wife’s home in the city of Aalst and shot her and her mother, as well as a man living there at the time.
The man survived the attack. However, both the gunman’s ex-wife and her mother died at the scene.
While driving back to Ghent, Calli’s car broke down and he took a woman driver hostage and injured another person after arriving back in the city.
Following his arrest, the Belgian authorities learned that he had served 18 months behind bars for abducting his son from his Belgian wife.
He told the police he carried out the killings to “cleanse his family’s honour”.
Calli was jailed for life following a four-year trial and served five years in Belgium before applying to return to Turkey to complete his sentence.
He was transferred to Turkey on 28th June 2013 and removed from Belgium’s criminal system the following year.
Calli only spent three years in jail in Turkey before being partially released and then cleared, according to reports.
His lawyer Ergun Top told Belgian media that he was partially released in 2016, placed on parole in 2019, and cleared of all charges a year later.
Calli, now 63 years old, told Belgian media source VTM news: “I am enjoying the sun, sea, and beach here. I have served my sentence. I have started a new life here.”
He added that his new partner is expecting a baby boy and he wanted to be left alone so he could adapt to his “new life”.
The victims’ families and the Belgian Ministry of Justice have slammed reports of the killer’s release and demanded answers from the Turkish government.
The Belgian Ministry said it had not been informed of any plans to release Calli and has yet to receive an answer to its enquiry.
The Ministry said the Turkish authorities have contravened the terms of the European Convention on the Transfer of Convicts, which states they should have been informed of any possible release.
