The investigation that was started regarding the death of Mahir Çetin after he was attacked by a racist group of 15 persons on 3 September in the Kaş district of Antalya province has been completed.

The indictment prepared by the prosecutor’s office demands a sentence for 4 of the 7 accused - of whom 1 is in custody -, for “premeditated murder” and for the other 3 “participation in the crime” has been submitted to the court.

20 year-old Mahir Cetin, who was working at a hotel in Kaş when he was attacked by a racist group of 15 persons because he spoke to his cousin in Kurdish. The group shouted “Dirty Kurds” during the attack. While Vedat Cetin was knocked unconscious when a beer bottle hit him on the head, Mahir Cetin was taken to hospital with a brain haemorrhage due to the heavy blows he received and later died. Mahir Cetin was laid to rest on 5 September following an autopsy. In the investigation started after his death, the police detained some of the people who took part in the attack. While Mehmet Ali Cakma was arrested, the other 3 detainees were released.

The prosecutor’s office obtained camera records of the incident, which shows Mahir Cetin and his cousin Vedat Cetin speaking to each other in Kurdish while they were leaving a bar that they went to after work. 1 of the persons from the group had an argument with them because they were speaking Kurdish, and then ran towards the cousins and attacked them. Then a group of 15 persons continued the attack.

Following the investigation, the prosecutor’s office prepared its indictment for the 7 accused, one of whom is in custody. The indictment has been submitted to Elmalı Serious Criminal Court.

According to the information provided by the lawyer of the Cetin family, Hasan Elban, the indictment asks for a sentence for “premeditated murder” for the accused, Mehmet Ali Çakma, Sefa Gömcü, Arif Bozdağ and Gökhan Güney. For the other three accused a sentence for “participating in the crime” is requested. The lawyer says they expect the court hearing to be scheduled for some day in December if the indictment is accepted by the court.