Murdered Armenian soldier's case goes back to Turkish court

PanARMENIAN.Net - The case of Turkish soldier of Armenian descent Sevag Balikci, who was shot to death during compulsory military service, will again head to court six year after his murder, Haberturk reports.

The first hearing is slated for February 8, 2018 in a civil court because the countryabolished military high courts by amending the constitution after a failed coup attempt.

Balikci was shot to death on April 24, 2011, the remembrance day of the Armenian Genocide. The perpetrator Kivanc Agaoglu was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

The murdered soldier's family, however, appealed the decision with the Military Court of Cassation which upheld the family's appeal and sent the case back to court.

His family believe that the shooting was a hate crime towards Balikci's Armenian identity.