Turkish animal rights teams on Wednesday condemned the court docket sentence on Ibrahim Okay. who brutally killed a preferred cat referred to as Eros in Istanbul, saying it was “not a punishment but a reward”.
“The decision given against the defendant, who first kicked ‘Eros’, who was fed and cared for by the residents of the site, in the elevator, and then followed him, prevented him from escaping, and killed him by kicking him repeatedly in the corridor for 6 minutes; is not a punishment, it is a reward!” the Centre for Animal Rights on the Istanbul Bar Association stated after the court docket listening to in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Ibrahim Okay. was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in jail and has been banned from touring overseas after kicking Eros to demise.
Animal rights defenders who watched the trial organised a protest in entrance of the court docket home. “We know he will not have to stay in prison with this sentence. We do not accept the verdict,” they chanted.
The authorities defended the court docket sentence. “The sentence given is the highest ever under the Animal Protection Law,” the Minister for Justice, Yilmaz Tunc, wrote on X.
According to video footages, on January 1, Ibrahim Okay. entered the elevator in his building and noticed the cat and instantly began to kick it, chasing it whereas it was attempting to run away.
As a results of its accidents, Eros died. A court docket case was opened in opposition to Ibrahim Okay. who was later launched from custody for exhibiting good behaviour in court docket in February.
“I am not a criminal; I lost control in a moment of anger and temporary insanity. I made a mistake that I will never forget in my life,” Ibrahim Okay. instructed the trial on Wednesday.
The trial was adopted by 1000’s of individuals within the court docket home together with animal rights teams, residents, political events and bar associations.
Turkey is likely one of the most cat-friendly nations on this planet and Istanbul is commonly referred to as because the City of Cats or Catstanbul as cats are fed and cared by locals as they freely roam in public locations equivalent to streets, mosques, parks, prepare stations and faculties.
