Trial Reopens in Killing of 9-Year-Old Gina, Found With Cinder Block Tied to Neck in Well
RastinewsThe trial over the killing of Gina Mercimek, a 9-year-old Syrian girl who was sexually abused and then thrown into a well with a cinder block tied to her neck in Kilis, has resumed.
Gina Mercimek disappeared in Kilis and was later found dead in a well, a cinder block tied around her neck. Investigators determined she had been sexually abused. One defendant was sentenced to aggravated life in prison over her death, while another was acquitted. After Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals 1st Criminal Chamber overturned that verdict, the case has now gone to retrial.
She never came home from school
Gina Mercimek, a primary school student, left school on April 4, 2023, and never returned to her family's home in the Okçular neighborhood. When her relatives' own search turned up nothing, they alerted police. As officers searched for the missing girl, her relatives told them they suspected a neighbor, Hüseyin Boğuç. Police then entered Boğuç's house and found Gina's body in a well in the garden, a cinder block tied to her neck.
Autopsy found she was strangled after being sexually abused
An autopsy conducted by the Institute of Forensic Medicine determined that Gina had been strangled to death after being sexually abused. As part of the investigation, Hüseyin Boğuç, the owner of the house where her body was found, and his friend Azittin Altınöz were detained and later arrested. Prosecutors charged the suspects with "murder motivated by a monstrous feeling," "sexual abuse of a child" and "deprivation of liberty," seeking aggravated life sentences.
During the trial, Hüseyin Boğuç was convicted and sentenced to aggravated life in prison, while Azittin Altınöz was acquitted. Reviewing the case after an appeal from the victim's family, the Supreme Court of Appeals' 1st Criminal Chamber ruled that the acquitted defendant should also be convicted and that the other defendant's sentence should be set at the maximum penalty. It overturned the local court's verdict on those grounds.
Retrial begins
The retrial opened today at the 2nd High Criminal Court. Hüseyin Boğuç, held in custody on charges of intentional killing, sexual abuse and deprivation of liberty, and Azittin Altınöz, held in custody on another charge, joined the hearing from prison via the Audio-Visual Information System (SEGBİS).
The victim's family, lawyers from the Ministry of Family and Social Services, and the parties' attorneys attended the hearing. Boğuç repeated his previous defense, denying guilt and asking to be acquitted. Altınöz likewise denied the charges and requested acquittal. The panel of judges ordered both defendants to remain in custody and adjourned the hearing.
"We have waged a legal fight"
After the hearing, Sümeyye Gökçe, the Mercimek family's lawyer, told reporters that she and her fellow attorneys, acting on behalf of the Yeryüzü Çocukları Association and the family, had followed the case from the start.
Gökçe said they had challenged the local court's decision after it acquitted one defendant and handed down what they considered an inadequate sentence to the other. "We objected to the local court's ruling," Gökçe said. "Following our objections, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the local court's decision, ruling that the acquitted defendant should also be convicted and that the other defendant's sentence should be set at the maximum. Today's hearing was the first since the retrial began following that correct ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals. Both defendants, who are being tried for intentional murder, sexual abuse and deprivation of liberty, were ordered to remain in custody. The hearing was adjourned to October 2."
(DHA)
(DHA)