Hakan Aysal, a Turkish man serving an aggravated life sentence for pushing his pregnant wife off a 1,000-foot cliff in 2018, has been released from prison after six years while an appeal against his conviction is examined by Turkey's Supreme Court Criminal General Assembly. The release, reported by Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, has triggered intense backlash from women's rights campaigners.
Conviction and Release
Aysal, 45, was convicted of the murder of his 32-year-old wife, Semra Aysal, whom he shoved off the Butterfly Valley cliff in southwestern Turkey shortly after the pair had taken selfies together. He was serving an aggravated life sentence for the calculated killing.
His release from a high-security prison came as the Supreme Court Criminal General Assembly reviews the appeal. Aysal's legal team and Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor Ömer Taş argued that there was not adequate, compelling evidence to find the husband guilty of murder.
Aysal's lawyer stated, "My client's six years of unjust imprisonment, approximately four of which he spent in solitary confinement, has come to an end," according to Cumhuriyet.
Prosecution's Case
Turkish prosecutors maintained that Aysal pushed his wife, who was seven months pregnant, while they visited the popular tourist spot near the city of Muğla. They informed the court that Aysal had secured a $25,000 accident insurance policy in his wife's name, naming himself as the only beneficiary and claiming the money straight after her death.
Aysal, who previously attempted to enter a plea of insanity, has continued to protest his innocence, insisting he never pushed his wife and that she had vanished after he turned his back for a moment. A witness who filmed the final moments at the clifftop told authorities that her husband had seemed "unusually calm" following the incident.
Witness Recep Sahin told police after sharing the footage, "We even joked, 'Either this man will throw the woman off or the woman will throw the man.' There was no interaction between them."
Backlash and Calls for Justice
Women's rights campaigners have expressed fury over the court's decision to free Aysal while his appeal is considered. Lawyer Hediye Gökçe Baykal told Cumhuriyet, "The decision is extremely worrying, not only for this case but also in terms of the evaluation of evidence in femicide cases and the debates surrounding impunity."
The women's branch of the New Party, Turkey's social democratic political faction, has demanded justice for both Semra Aysal and her unborn baby. The party wrote, "A woman and her seven-month-old unborn baby lost their lives. The defendant, who received an aggravated life sentence, is now free."
The group questioned, "The Supreme Court has issued a release order for Hakan Aysal, who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for being responsible for the death of his wife, Semra Aysal, in Muğla. We ask: How will accountability be provided for the deaths of Semra and her unborn baby?"
