The verdict hearing was held in the murder trial of journalist and ecology activist Hakan Tosun, who was killed in Esenyurt on October 13, 2025. The court sentenced the two detained defendants, Abdurrahman Murat and Adnan Şahin, to life imprisonment for intentional killing.
Hakan Tosun’s sister Öznur Tosun leaving the courthouse after the hearing. Photos: Gökçe Bayrak
Today (October 7), the 4th hearing of the case concerning the killing of journalist and ecology activist Hakan Tosun, who was beaten to death in Esenyurt, Istanbul, on October 13, 2025, took place at the Bakırköy 17th Assize Court.
At today’s verdict hearing, the 2 detained defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment under Article 81 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), “intentional killing.” In a press statement after the hearing, lawyers and the rights defenders following the case repeated their demand that the third person, against whom the family has filed a criminal complaint since the start of the process, also be put on trial.
Most journalists were not admitted to the hearing
Hakan Tosun’s family and friends, ecology activists, right-to-life defenders, journalists, politicians and many others gathered in front of the Bakırköy Courthouse to attend the hearing. Şükrü Kibar, brother of Reşit Kibar, a right-to-life defender killed in Artvin, also attended.
Before the hearing, large numbers of police, with drones and security shields, took positions in front of and inside the courthouse. It was announced that no one except Hakan Tosun’s family, including journalists, would be admitted to the hearing. The crowd that was not let into the courtroom held an open forum in front of the Bakırköy Courthouse before the hearing, broadcast live from the Instagram account “Justice for Hakan Tosun.”
Journalist Pınar Gayıp, who spoke, said: “As Hakan Tosun’s family and friends, we will continue our struggle to have all those responsible to stand trial, first and foremost Yusuf Özakdağ. Today the hearing of a murdered journalist will take place. A verdict is not expected today, yet we journalists, his colleagues, will not be admitted to the hearing.”
The hearing began at 10.40, with only Hakan Tosun’s family, lawyers, politicians and 4 journalists admitted. Other press workers followed the hearing from an additional room via the SEGBİS (video conferencing) system. The first to speak was Hakan Tosun’s mother, Fatma Tosun, who asked: “Why can the third person walk around freely on the street, who is behind him?” She repeated the demand that the third person in the case be tried. The family said, “I am here so that justice may be fully served.” The family’s lawyer Cemal Gürsel said: “Under Article 81 of the TCK, we request that they be tried for intentional killing without benefiting from any reduction.”
“They lie right to our faces”
The family’s lawyer Hakan Bozyurt stressed the importance of how the killing took place. He said that he had watched the footage previously submitted to the court many times and together with the expert reports, it shows there was no contact initiated by Hakan Tosun, while the footage shows that the defendant struck Hakan Tosun’s head violently and repeatedly and pulled his hair.
Bozyurt noted that the records also show defendants Adnan Şahin and Abdurrahman Murat leaving the scene by car, and Yusuf Özakdağ coming and watching Hakan Tosun from his motorcycle. He said of those claiming otherwise: “They lie right to our faces.” Blaming the police’s inadequacy for the fact that the footage proving the witness statements contradictory was not obtained at first, Bozyurt asked: “If there had been camera footage, we would have seen the truth more clearly. Why don’t the police do their job?”
As the way the killing was carried out was described in the courtroom, the family broke into tears and said “they tortured” Hakan.
Lawyer Bozyurt said that, considering the defendants’ criminal records, they should not receive a good-conduct reduction, and that he was requesting the heaviest sentence as a deterrent against rising crime in society.
Defense lawyer blamed Tosun, tension rose in the courtroom
Defendant Abdurrahman Murat then spoke and expressed his guilt, saying: “I would never have wanted such an incident to happen, I am very sorry, he provoked me repeatedly and said unspeakable things.” Saying he assumed the blow to the skull that caused Hakan Tosun’s death came from something else, Murat requested acquittal.
Defendant Adnan Şahin then spoke: “I am here because of names I did not know before. The only thing I did when the argument started was to take Abdurrahman away. The place I took Abdurrahman to was in front of his house. After that I did not act together with him. Abdurrahman goes to the scene a second time on his motorcycle; my only fault there is not calling an ambulance. Since I thought he had passed out drunk, I did not see any beating.”
Saying he agreed that the witness statements were wrong, Şahin said: “The witnesses are lying, they are trying to pin the blame on me to save Abdurrahman.”
Tension rose in the courtroom when Adnan Şahin’s lawyer, Mustafa Berkay Yılmaz, said Hakan Tosun had been thrown off the metrobus over an accusation of “rape.” Following the reaction of the family and lawyers, a voice called out, “Know your profession and speak accordingly.” Yılmaz then changed his claim, saying the incident was harassment. Yılmaz requested the defendant’s acquittal.
After a recess, at the verdict hearing that began at 12:00, detained defendants Abdurrahman Murat and Adnan Şahin were sentenced to life imprisonment under TCK Article 37/1 “Perpetration” and TCK Article 81/1 “Intentional Killing.”
“The struggle is not over”
As the family left the courthouse after the verdict, Hakan Tosun’s sister Öznur Tosun said: “It won’t bring my brother back, but this time justice was served. Now it is the turn of everyone who had a hand in this to answer before justice. Until that day, our struggle will continue.”
In the press statement held after the hearing, the demands for the trial of the third person came to the fore. The lawyers of Hakan Tosun’s family said that despite presenting concrete evidence, no action had been taken regarding the third person, and that although a verdict had been reached for two people, the struggle would continue. During the statement, slogans such as “Don’t whitewash, question, deliver justice” and “Hakan is here, his camera is recording” were chanted.
Şükrü Kibar, brother of ecology defender Reşit Kibar, also spoke at the press statement, saying he wanted justice for everyone: “At least today we saw that there is a light. This light will shine until the third person is also tried. We stand by each other without fear.”
Istanbul Bar Association Deputy President Av. Rukiye Leyla Süren said:
“Hakan Tosun was a comrade known to all of us, who struggled precisely for the rule of law to be restored for the environment, for people, for animals, that is, for this country. This time we had to say ‘justice for Hakan Tosun.’
“I learned a lot from Hakan”
Oruç Karacık, a fellow campaigner of Hakan Tosun, also described Hakan to Niha+:
“I first met Hakan at the Kaz Mountains protest, and since Hakan was at every event, we became quite close. We went to many protests on buses arranged by the municipality, and in my car. Hakan’s greatest quality was that he truly kept his camera recording, never steering anyone and never judging anyone. He would prepare what everyone said as a documentary and present it exactly as it was. I saw him share his own opinion only when we were very close. In other words, he was a person who didn’t steer anyone. I learned a lot from Hakan.”
Giving his thoughts on the hearing, Karacık said: “We understood it was an organized massacre. I feel the police and security forces were involved too. I see that even on the metrobus there was filming, that he was being followed even there. Two life sentences is a good thing, but the struggle must continue.”
Murder of Hakan Tosun
Journalist and documentary maker Hakan Tosun was killed in the middle of the street in Esenyurt, Istanbul, on October 10, 2025. Footage from the moment of his killing reached the press and social media. During the investigation, three people detained on allegations of destroying evidence were released under judicial control. The detained defendants Abdurrahman Murat and Adnan Şahin were tried for “intentional killing.”
The first hearing, on May 6, 2026, was held at the Bakırköy 17th High Criminal Court. At the first hearing, the continued detention of the two defendants was ordered.
The second hearing was held at the same court on July 8, 2026. At this hearing too, continued detention of the two detained defendants was ordered. Camera footage was shown in the courtroom. The family’s lawyer said the footage shows Tosun moving when Abdurrahman Murat came up to him. In his defense, Murat said, “I pray.” The hearing was adjourned to September 22.
At the 3rd hearing on September 22, 2026, the prosecution requested that the two detained defendants be punished as joint perpetrators for “intentional killing” and that their detention continue. At this hearing, where a verdict was expected, the defendants attended via SEGBİS. The defendants’ lawyers did not attend. The hearing was therefore adjourned to October 7.
