The retrial of Ibrahim Keloğlan, the man charged with the murder of the cat “Eros”, which he kicked to death in a flat block in the Başakşehir district of Istanbul on New Year’s Eve, was surrounded by high tension due to the presence of a large number of people demanding an exemplary sentence for events that have once again caused an uproar in Turkey’s society.
During yesterday’s trial session at the Küçükçekmece courthouse, Keloğlan was again convicted on the charge of “intentional killing of animals”, and the court imposed a ban on his leaving the country. Despite the efforts of the police, the courtroom was overwhelmed by the arrival of hundreds of people who wanted to attend the trial, forcing it to be moved to a larger courtroom; even so, a large number of people had to remain outside, where slogans were chanted calling for “justice for Eros” amidst great tension.
During the trial, it was proven that the defendant viciously attacked the cat for no apparent reason and kicked it to death for 5 minutes, even though the animal tried to run away several times. Although Keloğlan was facing up to 4 years in prison under the new law against animal abuse, the court finally handed down a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison.
The sentence is in any case double than the reduced sentence of 1 year and 3 months’ imprisonment that Keloğlan initially received by another court, which then argued that the perpetrator of the murder of Eros the cat had no criminal record and had shown remorse during the trial. The court decision then sparked a major controversy and a wave of outrage across Turkey, where a campaign on change.org collected nearly a quarter of a million signatures demanding a retrial and an exemplary sentence.
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
