JINHA

ERZURUM – The prosecutor in the case of Mehmet Akpınar, who killed his wife Rabiye in Erzurum, Turkey, has requested a sentence reduction for the perpetrator on the grounds that her last words were "provocation."

The "sentence reductions" disproportionately handed out to perpetrators of femicide have become nearly traditional in Turkey. Now, the prosecutor in the case have requested that the judge consider murder victim Rabiye's last words as justification for the killing and to reduce the sentence from aggravated life in prison to 18-24 years.

On March 4, retired watchman Mehmet Akpınar, 59, shot his wife Rabiye Akpınar in their home in the city center of Erzurum province. Rabiye, 60, was wounded and taken to the hospital, but lost her life in surgery. Mehmet Akpınar was arrested

State prosecutor Adem Kartal filed a charge of "willful murder of one's spouse" against Mehmet Akpınar. The charges, however, emphasized that the couple frequently argued and called for a sentence reduction for the killer. The prosecutor justified the request based on the claim that Rabiye's last words before she was killed were "you're a man who pimps his wife."

(fk/cm)