ANKARA - Ankara Criminal Court sentenced on Friday police officer Ahmet Bastan to 4 years and 5 months in prison finding him guilty of the death of a student, Birtan Altinbas, who was under detention in 1991.
Oya Aydin, one of the intervenor lawyers, said that the defendants Naip Kilic and Ahmet Bastan ''killed a detainee under torture'' and were trying to ''cause lapse of time in such an important case''. She asked the court not to reduce the punishment of the mentioned police officers.
In a petition, Aydin called on the court to indict Istanbul Police Department, Istanbul Governor's Office, Pendik and Uskudar police departments and security officers on charges that ''they have not arrested the suspects for three years although they know the addresses of them.''
The court delegation acquitted Naip Kilic, saying that it has not been proved that he was one of the policemen who joined the team which interrogated the student. On the other hand, the court sentenced Bastan, who is a member of Ankara Anti-Terror Brigade, to 4 years and 5 months in prison on charges of ''killing a person under detention''. However, Bastan will benefit from a reduction of punishment regulated by the Article 59 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
The court asked the intervenor lawyers to indict the policemen on their own.
In March, police officers Ibrahim Dedeoglu, Hasan Cavit Orhan, Suleyman Sinkil and Sadi Cayli were all sentenced to 4 years and 5 months in prison on charges of ''killing a person'' and ''torturing detainees''. Four other policemen were acquitted.
(BRC-ULG) 10.09.2004