A Turkish court has sentenced a specialist sergeant to less than two years in prison for killing a Kurdish shepherd in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari in 2019, raising renewed concerns about impunity for security forces in Turkey, the Mezopotamya News Agency reported.
The Yüksekova 1st High Criminal Court convicted the soldier of “involuntary manslaughter” for firing from a military zone and killing Sertip Şen, 46, on May 2, 2019. The court reduced the sentence from two years to one year, eight months, citing the defendant’s “good conduct” during the trial.
Lawyers representing Şen’s family argued that the soldier should have faced charges of premediated murder.
Turkey’s Human Rights Association (İHD) criticized the ruling, saying it “sacrificed justice to impunity” and argued that arbitrary gunfire and military exercises in areas designated as military zones have led to numerous violations of fundamental rights, particularly the right to life.
The case adds to longstanding concerns over impunity in Turkey, particularly in investigations involving the killing of Kurds by security forces. Human rights groups say flawed probes, decisions of non-prosecution and delays in judicial proceedings have repeatedly prevented accountability in such incidents.
