Turkish Man Convicted of Pushing Pregnant Wife Off Cliff Released After Six Years, Sparking Outrage

A Turkish man who was serving a life sentence for pushing his pregnant wife off a cliff in 2018 has been released from prison after six years, according to Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. The decision has ignited widespread criticism and raised concerns about the handling of the case.

Hakan Aysal, 45, was convicted of the premeditated murder of his 32-year-old wife, Semra Aysal, who was seven months pregnant. Prosecutors alleged that he pushed her off a 1,000-foot cliff at Butterfly Valley near the city of Muğla in southwestern Turkey after the couple took selfies together. They also claimed that Aysal had taken out a $25,000 accident insurance policy in his wife's name, making himself the sole beneficiary, and collected the funds immediately after her death.

Aysal was freed from a high-security prison as Turkey's Supreme Court's Criminal General Assembly reviews an appeal against his aggravated life sentence. His lawyer stated that his client's "six years of unjust imprisonment, approximately four of which he spent in solitary confinement, has come to an end," as reported by Cumhuriyet. The Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor, Ömer Taş, has argued that there is insufficient convincing evidence to uphold the conviction.

Aysal has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming that his wife disappeared after he turned his back for a moment. He once attempted to enter a plea of insanity. A witness, Recep Sahin, who recorded video of Semra Aysal's final moments on the cliff, told police that the husband appeared "unusually calm" after the incident and that there was no interaction between the couple.

The release has provoked outrage among women's rights groups, who see it as a setback for justice and a failure to protect victims of gender-based violence. The case continues to draw public attention as the appeal process unfolds.