Life Sentence for Turk Who Killed Syrian in Notorious Hate Crime
A Turkish court in Izmir has sentenced a young Turk to life imprisonment for attacking his Syrian coworkers last year, killing one and stabbing the other in a brutal hate crime linked to xenophobia.
The crime occurred last August when Şerif Çelik attacked his Syrian coworkers with a knife without prior warning, killing Mohammad Yasser Alati (27 years old) and stabbing Hussein Dahmash (20 years old).
A team of lawyers and activists who followed this widely publicized case among Syrian refugees in Turkey stated that the verdict also included a 13-year prison sentence for stabbing Dahmash.
Syrian human rights activist, Taha Ghazi, said in a statement that the murderer Çelik was convicted of the premeditated murder of Alati and the attempted murder of Dahmash.
He added that witnesses stated that the murderer had been complaining for months before the crime about the presence of Syrian workers and had asked his employer to dismiss them.
After the crime, the murderer went to his sister’s house, who then reported him to the police, initiating the judicial process. During the trial, the employer of the victims testified that the Syrian workers were well-mannered and had never had any conflicts with the murderer, contrary to his claims.
Turkish colleagues, including the son of the workshop owner, revealed that the murderer had been preparing for the crime by bringing a knife, sharpening it, and deleting all surveillance camera footage.
A team from the Izmir Bar Association and activists from Turkish human rights organizations supported the families of the young Syrians.
More than 3 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey, having fled the war and economic collapse since 2011.
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The presence of this large number of Syrians in Turkey divides Turkish society, with some calling for their return to Syria while others defend them.
