Politics · Turkey · 5 hrs ago
Turkey’s top court upholds man’s aggravated life sentence for wife’s murder
Turkey’s Court of Cassation upheld Erdal Necip Sözer’s aggravated life sentence for killing his wife, Semiha Sözer.
She died on January 24, 2023, after falling from a cliff about 20 metres high in Yalova province.
Erdal said they had gone to the rocks to take photographs and denied the charges.
Investigators concluded that Semiha was pushed, rather than dying by accident or suicide.
A court in Yalova sentenced Erdal to aggravated life imprisonment in January 2025, and an appeals court later upheld the decision.
The top court rejected a request for a reduced sentence and added that the crime was committed against a woman.
The sentence is now final, after the court’s judges agreed unanimously.
Turkey’s Court of Cassation upheld Erdal Necip Sözer’s aggravated life sentence for murdering his wife, Semiha Sözer.
The court ruled unanimously and rejected his request for a sentence reduction for good conduct.
Semiha Sözer died after falling from a height of about 20 metres in Yalova province on 24 January 2023.
An expert panel concluded that her death was not an accident or suicide and that she had been pushed.
Sözer denied the accusations during the trial.
- Who
- Erdal Necip Sözer, whose wife was Semiha Sözer.
- What
- Turkey’s Court of Cassation upheld his aggravated life sentence for murdering her.
- When
- The death occurred on 24 January 2023; the date of the Court of Cassation ruling is not stated.
- Where
- Near Soğuksu village in Yalova province, Turkey.
- Why
- The court upheld the conviction, finding the case involved the intentional murder of a woman and a spouse. The motive is not stated.
Erdal Necip Sözer
The expert panel and courts
Account of the fall
Erdal Necip Sözer
Sözer said he and his wife had gone to the rocks to take photographs.
The expert panel and courts
An expert panel concluded she died after being pushed, not in an accident or suicide.
Responsibility
Erdal Necip Sözer
Sözer denied the accusations during the trial.
The expert panel and courts
The courts convicted him of murder and upheld his aggravated life sentence.
Semiha Sözer died after falling from a height of about 20 metres in Yalova province.
Erdal Necip Sözer was detained.
Yalova 2nd Heavy Penal Court sentenced Sözer to aggravated life imprisonment.
Bursa Regional Court of Appeal issued a decision, after which the case went to the Court of Cassation.
The Court of Cassation unanimously upheld the sentence, adding that the crime was committed against a woman.
- Victim
- Semiha Sözer, 34
- Defendant
- Erdal Necip Sözer, 41
- Location
- Ballıkaya area near Soğuksu village, Yalova province
- Fall height
- About 20 metres
- Trial court sentence
- Aggravated life imprisonment, imposed on 3 January 2025
- Appeal ruling
- Bursa Regional Court of Appeal, 8 May 2025
What people are saying
We went up to take photographs
Sources
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