Turkish husband Hakan Aysal released from prison after being convicted of pushing his pregnant wife off a cliff

A Turkish man sentenced to life in prison for pushing his pregnant wife to her death off a famous 300-metre cliff in exchange for paying for a life insurance policy has been released after just six years, sparking intense backlash.

Hakan Aysal was released from a high-security prison as the General Criminal Assembly of Turkey’s Supreme Court considers an appeal against the convicted killer’s life sentence for the 2018 death of his wife, Semra Aysal, Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reported Friday.

“My client’s six years of unjust imprisonment, including approximately four years in solitary confinement, have come to an end,” Aysal’s lawyer said, according to the media.

Aysal, 45, was serving an aggravated life sentence for the premeditated murder of his 32-year-old wife, whom he pushed off the picturesque Butterfly Valley cliff after taking selfies together.

Aysal was sentenced in October 2022.

Aysal’s lawyers and the Supreme Court’s chief prosecutor, Ömer Taş, argued that sufficient and convincing evidence was lacking to convict the murderous husband.

Turkish prosecutors had claimed Aysal shoved his wife, seven months pregnant with the couple’s child, while they were at the popular destination near the town of Muğla in southwestern Turkey.

Prosecutors told the court that Aysal took out a $25,000 accident insurance policy in his wife’s name, becoming the sole beneficiary and collecting the funds immediately after her death.

Aysal – who previously tried to plead insanity – maintained his innocence, saying he never pushed his wife and instead she disappeared after he turned his back on her for a second.

A witness, who recorded video capturing Semra Aysal’s final moments on the cliff, said the husband appeared “unusually calm” after the incident.

“We even joked, ‘Either this man will reject the woman, or the woman will reject the man.’ There was no interaction between them,” witness Recep Sahin told police after sharing the footage with them.

Women’s rights groups were outraged following the court’s decision to release Aysal while they considered her appeal.

“The decision is extremely worrying, not only for this case but also in terms of evaluating evidence in femicide cases and debates around impunity,” lawyer Hediye Gökçe Baykal told Cumhuriyet.

The women’s wing of the New Party, Turkey’s social democratic political faction, has demanded justice for Semra Aysal and her unborn child.

“A woman and her seven-month-old unborn baby lost their lives. The accused, who was sentenced to an aggravated life sentence, is now free,” the party wrote, according to the media.

“The Supreme Court issued a release order against Hakan Aysal, who was sentenced to an aggravated life sentence for being responsible for the death of his wife, Semra Aysal, in Muğla. We ask: how will accountability be ensured for the death of Semra and her unborn baby?” » questioned the group.