Man sentenced to life imprisonment for killing trans woman Gökçe

* Photo: Evrensel

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Standing trial for killing trans woman Gökçe Saygı, who was using the name "Naz", defendant Şahin Yalçın has been given a life sentence.

While Yalçın attending his final hearing at the Antalya 3rd Heavy Penal Court via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS), his attorney requested a sentence reduction due to "unjust provocation."

Having pleaded guilty for stabbing Saygı to death, Yalçın said, "I turned myself in. I would not want to do it. I repent. I wish I had not done it."

The court has ruled that defendant Şahin Yalçın shall be sentenced to life imprisonment on charge of "wilful killing."

What happened?

Trans woman Gökçe Saygı was killed in the district of Muratpaşa in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya on May 3, 2019.

After the shouts coming from her apartment stopped, the neighbors of Saygı called an ambulance. Paramedic teams and police officers were referred to the scene of incident. Neighbors informed them that the cries were coming from the house of Saygı on the first floor.

Police found the deceased body of the trans woman when they entered her house. It was seen that the murder suspect stabbed her to death for several times. Şahin Yalçın has been arrested by the court.

In the fourth hearing of the lawsuit filed against the defendant, the Forensic Medical report documenting that he was in full possession of his mental faculties was read out. The prosecutor announced his opinion as to the accusation and indicated that the defendant stabbed Saygı to death for no reason. Accordingly, he demanded aggravated life sentence for Yalçın. (EMK/SD)