A police chief in the Suruç district of the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, which was shaken by a terrorist attack in July 2015, has been fined TL7,500 for negligence in failing to prevent the attack.
Thirty-three people were killed while 104 others were injured when an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Amara Culture Center in Suruç. The explosion occurred while the group was releasing a press statement on their planned trip to reconstruct the Syrian border town of Kobani.
Suruç Police Chief Mehmet Yapalıal was the only suspect who stood trial in the investigation into the terror attack.
His trial, which was held at the Suruç Penal Court of First Instance, concluded on Monday, when he was fined TL 7,500 for negligence. Yapalıal will pay the fine in 12 installments.
The amount of punishment handed down to Yapalıal for his negligence in the Suruç attack led to heavy criticism on social media, with many saying that the court behaved as if the lives of 33 people were worth TL7,500.