More than 28 Years in Jail on Hate Murder
22-year-old Emrah Şen was sentenced to 28 years and four months in prison for killing 28-year-old transsexual İrem Okan with a knife in Bursa (north-western Turkey) in 2010.
As reported by the LGBT association Kaos GL, İrem Okan was found stabbed with a knife 44 times at her home in the Osmangazi district of Bursa. The penetrations occurred between her throat and her abdomen. Okan's body was discovered by a friend.
"I killed her because she proposed a relationship"
The murderer suspect Emrah Şen was found because he had cut his hand during the offence. The police investigated 50 people who requested a corresponding treatment at hospitals in the region and followed up conversations on mobile phones. Emrah Şen was taken into custody where he confessed the crime. He was then arrested and taken to prison.
The defendant was facing a life sentence on charges of "premeditated murder" and imprisonment of another nine years under allegations of "theft".
In his statement at the Bursa 2nd High Criminal Court, Şen said that he had been in touch with Okan for a long time. He stated that he killed her when Okan suggested starting a relationship. He took the victim's laptop, mobile phone and a few decorative items in order not to leave a trace, Şen said.
Life sentence
The final hearing was decided after ten minutes only. The court board sentenced Şen to a life sentence on charges of "premeditated murder". The sentence was mitigated to 25 years due to the good conduct of the defendant during the trial. Şen was handed down an additional prison sentence of three years and four months for theft.
Melek Okan, the mother of the victim, said after the hearing, "This is a small punishment for the one who killed my child. My child is under the earth, the [murderer] is breathing and living. The only thing I am happy about is the fact that this murder did not remain unsolved".
Friends of the victim observed the hearing and called for the end of hate crimes. (EKN/EÖ/VK)