Son of former Turkish deputy PM receives life sentence for killing grandmother

The son of former Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his grandmother with a firearm after taking her hostage last year, a court ruled Thursday.

Bedirhan Sener was found guilty of killing Leyla Cetiner in their Ankara home during an incident on July 31, 2024. The Ankara 1st Heavy Penal Court initially sentenced Sener to aggravated life imprisonment for “intentional killing of a direct ancestor” but reduced the sentence to life imprisonment due to good conduct during the trial.

The court also sentenced Sener to an additional one year and eight months for illegal possession of a firearm.

During the final hearing, defense attorney Can Kizilyar argued that his client was suffering from schizophrenia and experiencing a psychotic episode during the incident, claiming that Sener fired randomly without targeting anyone specifically.

“It is clear that my client was experiencing a psychotic attack during the incident and was not himself,” Kizilyar told the court. “My client did not aim at any specific point. On the day of the incident, his mother Berrin and the victim didn’t even ring the building’s doorbell before going to the apartment door. As soon as the door opened, random firing began.”

Court acquits Sener charges related to his mother

The attorney emphasized that although Sener’s mother was present during the shooting, she was not harmed, suggesting that his client had no intention to kill.

The court acquitted Sener of charges related to his mother, citing insufficient evidence.

When given the opportunity to speak, Sener claimed he had a close relationship with his grandmother, noting that he had personally brought her to Ankara after her home was destroyed in an earthquake in Osmaniye.

“My grandmother is one of the people I love most in the world,” Sener said in his final statement. “When the earthquake happened, she was living in Osmaniye and her house was destroyed. Despite having many relatives in Ankara, I personally went and brought my grandmother here because I loved her very much. I could never intentionally commit such an act against my grandmother or my mother. I request my acquittal and release.”

The incident occurred last summer in Ankara’s Ayranci neighborhood following a dispute that escalated into violence. According to earlier statements from Abdullatif Sener, his son had psychological issues and “shot without even realizing the person in front of him was his grandmother.”

Following the shooting, Bedirhan Sener underwent a three-week psychiatric evaluation at Bilkent City Hospital’s High-Security Forensic Psychiatry Department.

Contrary to the defense’s claims, medical experts determined that Sener did not suffer from any mental illness that would impair his criminal responsibility, concluding he was fully capable of understanding the legal implications of his actions.