Turkish prosecutors lifted a travel ban on Mohamed Hassan Sheik Mohamud, the son of Somali President Hasan Sheikh Mohamud, after he testified in court regarding his involvement in a deadly accident in İstanbul in November, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.
An indictment from the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a prison sentence of between two and six years for son Mohamud on charges of “negligent manslaughter.”
The indictment accuses the younger Mohamud of causing the death of 38-year-old motorcycle courier Yunus Emre Göçer based on forensic reports and video footage of the accident.
Göçer was critically injured on November 30 when he was struck from behind on a busy highway in İstanbul by Mohamud, who was driving a vehicle registered to the Somali Consulate in the Fatih district. He succumbed to his injuries in a hospital on December 6.
Son Mohamud was taken into police custody following the accident but was released after giving a statement, which received significant backlash, following which a travel ban was imposed on him days after the collision.
However, it turned out that Mohamed Hassan Sheik Mohamud had already fled Turkey on Dec. 2.
Mohamud returned to Turkey and testified in court with the help of an interpreter, repeating his earlier defense, Artı Gerçek reported.
The court withdrew the arrest warrant against Mahmut after taking his statement and also lifted the travel ban imposed on him. The court released Mohamud, and he won’t be summoned for further hearings.
President Mohamud told The Associated Press in his first comments about the accident in December that his son didn’t flee Turkey following the accident and that he has advised him to go back and present himself to a court.
“It was an accident. He did not run away, and he hired a lawyer for this purpose,” the president was quoted as saying by AP. “And there was no arrest warrant. … So, he has a business and he came out of the country.”
He said he was urging his son to go back and present himself to the court but added that he’s an adult and would make the final decision himself.
A recent report issued by Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), based on video footage of the accident, found son Mohamud to be primarily at fault in the accident because he did not brake when necessary or maintain a safe distance when changing lanes, which resulted in a collision with Göçer’s motorcycle.
An initial report drafted by police officers who arrived at the scene of the crash blamed Göçer for the accident.