Ankara prosecutor seeks 'intentional homicide' instead of 'incitement to suicide' in Aleyna Kaya case

Aleyna Kaya (21), a fourth-year music education student at Gazi University, filed a complaint at Cebeci Police Station after her ex-boyfriend Selim Akarçay sent her death threat messages refusing to accept their breakup, and Ankara 1st Family Court issued a two-month restraining order against Akarçay. Kaya ended her life at Kolej Metro station on August 11, 2024.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office brought Akarçay to trial on charges of "inciting suicide, assisting suicide, and threatening a woman." At the trial's first hearing on October 14, the prosecutor submitted a groundbreaking opinion: based on the provision in Article 84, Paragraph 4 of the Turkish Criminal Code stating that "those who incite others to suicide through coercion or threat shall be held responsible for intentional homicide," the prosecutor argued that Akarçay's actions constituted intentional homicide under Article 81 of the Turkish Criminal Code.

In the opinion, it was emphasized that Kaya had no prior history of suicide attempts, and that her belief that legal remedies would be exhausted played a decisive role in her viewing death as an escape. The court ruled to continue the defendant's detention and granted the defense additional time. Hürriyet reported the news.