Police officer who killed Sarısülük during Gezi protests of Turkey gets a criminal fine
Ethem Sarısülük was shot on the head by police officer Ahmet Şahbaz in Ankara during the Gezi protests of 2013 in Turkey. After being held at intensive care for 14 days, Sarısülük passed away on June 14th.
During the last hearing of the case today (December 19), heavy penal court in İstanbul’s Aksaray district decided for suspect Şahbaz to be sentenced to 1 year 4 months and 20 days jail time, then changing to a criminal fine in the amount of 10100 TL (around 2800 USD).
Testifying at the hearing through a video call, the suspect of the case Ahmet Şahbaz, who has been tried without arrest, said: “What I want is for the essence of the incident of be looked through and a just decision to be given. I did not act with the slightest intention. The attacks of the group of demonstrators are recorded (in videos). I fired up in the air; I got subjected to stone throwing (by the demonstrators). I am not a tree or a pole made of cement. Too many stones were thrown. So, I held up the gun in the air so that there would be no problems. This accident happened because of demonstrators stoning me.”
Şahbaz was charged with ‘causing death by exceeding purpose in self-defense’. As the judge announced the decision to punish him with a criminal fine of 10K TL, family members, friends, and lawyers of Sarısülük reacted in awe, questioning ‘how possibly it could be settled with only a criminal fine.’