38-year-old Cumali A. from Steenwijk has been in a Turkish prison since April 13 last year for killing his 18-year-old niece Denise Celik in a hotel in Enschede in 2004. In the Netherlands he was still listed as a fugitive.
The Public Prosecution Service has announced that the man has been arrested in Turkey and is serving his sentence there. Justice was informed about this last Friday. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service says that they are “pleasantly surprised” by the news. The OM does not know why the information has only now been shared by the Turkish authorities. Denise Celik’s mother has since been informed about the arrest.
The man fled to Germany in 2004 after killing his niece, from where he flew to relatives in Turkey. In the Netherlands, he was subsequently sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison for manslaughter and remained without a trace for years.
He was on the national and European wanted list. In 2016, the Netherlands made a request to Turkey to take over the sentence imposed, although the man was still a fugitive at the time. Investigation Requested paid attention to the case in 2018; the police tried to trace his whereabouts.
Additional penalty for robbery
In addition to the ten-year sentence, A. must also serve a six-month suspended prison sentence imposed on him for a robbery of a home. The resident was assaulted and robbed. This conditional part is part of an 18-month prison sentence imposed on him in 2003.
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