The son of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is anticipated to return to Turkey to stand trial for a deadly traffic accident that occurred in Istanbul, according to a statement made by the minister of justice on Thursday.
The minister of justice for Turkey, Yilmaz Tunc, informed reporters that Ankara had discussions with Somali court authorities over Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s extradition.
“The trial process will take place, and the defendant will come to Turkey in the coming days,” Tunc stated.
On November 30, Mohamud struck and killed motorcycle courier Yunus Emre Gocer in Istanbul’s Fatih neighbourhood while operating a car with a diplomatic licence plate. After being admitted to the hospital right after, the 38-year-old victim passed away on December 6.
After giving testimony, Mohamud was released on the same day of the accident at the request of an Istanbul prosecutor, according to police records that VOA Turkish was able to collect.
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said in a news release last Friday that Mohamud was placed under arrest for involuntary manslaughter after Gocer passed away, but that Mohamud had already departed the nation on December 2.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Mohamud’s arrest warrant was issued on December 8.
The son of the Somali president was permitted to depart Turkey, according to Gocer’s family attorney, Iyaz Cimen, because of “a chain of negligence.”
“On the evening of the accident day, we went to the police station, but they didn’t pay us any attention. We asked to be held in the prosecutor’s office from November 30 to December 7 for a total of eight days. Cimen told VOA that “[Mohamud] was not arrested, and in fact, no judicial control was placed, including a travel ban.”
However, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of Somalia, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his son remained in Istanbul for a few days following the accident rather than leaving the country.
It happened by mistake. The president of Somalia stated, “He did not flee and he hired a lawyer for this purpose.” Furthermore, no arrest warrant was present. Thus, he left the nation and started a business.
Adding that his son is an adult and that “the decision is his— but I am giving that advice,” Mohamud said he is recommending his son to appear in court in Turkey.
The president of Somalia also sent his sympathies to Gocer’s family.
