A Turkish prosecutor is seeking a reduced sentence for a man who slit his ex-wife’s throat in front of their young daughter because she “provoked” him.
Fedai Varan, 43, stabbed his ex-wife Emine Bulut, 38, in the neck in front of their 11-year-old daughter, initials F. B. V., in a cafe in the Turkish city of Kirikkale on 18th August 2019.
CCTV footage of the incident shows the victim covered in blood, saying “I don’t want to die”, while her daughter cries “Mum, please don’t die”.
The Kirikkale First Heavy Penal Court sentenced the man to 24 years in prison for ‘deliberate murder’.
The decision caused an uproar because the Kirikkale Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had been pushing for a longer jail term on the charge of ‘killing with monstrous intent’.
However, the prosecution now seems to have changed its position from its original hard stance after it was revealed that a prosecutor from the Ankara Regional Court of Justice in the Turkish capital has now sought to reduce the convict’s sentence, citing his “good conduct” and his ex-wife’s alleged “provocation”.
As quoted in local media on Sunday, 5th December, the prosecutor said: “The suspect says that the victim insulted him before the incident and that he committed the crime as a result.”
The prosecutor added: “Femicides should be fought against, but one needs to be just when doing that.”
Esra Nur Ozbey, the lawyer representing the family of the victim, has also appealed the sentence handed to Varan, arguing it should be longer, given the brutality of the killing.
A final decision is expected regarding the length of the sentence from the Supreme Court of Appeals.
