A Turkish court has ruled for non-prosecution on criminal complaints concerning the murder of air force cadet Murat Tekin during a failed coup attempt in 2016, the Diken news website reported on Friday.
The court justified its decision based on a state of emergency decree adopted after the failed coup that granted impunity to civilians who took to the streets to stop the coup.
Tekin’s lawyer Kübra Aydın revealed that they were not notified of the decision, which was dated November 2018, only to be verbally informed of it during a visit to the prosecutor’s office.
“We’ll object to the decision in the higher criminal courts; however, I do not expect a positive response,” Aydın said. “After that, we’ll lodge an application with the European Court of Human Rights.”
On the day of the coup, 25-year-old Tekin was one of a group of cadets who were deployed to the Bosporus Bridge in İstanbul.
“We are taking you to the most realistic military exercise you’ve ever seen,” commanders at the military school reportedly told them.
His family was only able to retrieve his body 12 days after the incident.
His sister claimed his throat was slit by an angry mob, backing up her allegation with an autopsy report that further stated that he was battered, stabbed and asphyxiated before he died.