Court sentences young man to 75 years for stabbing spree

ESKİŞEHİR

A Turkish court has sentenced a 19-year-old man to more than 75 years in prison for a stabbing spree in the central city of Eskişehir last year that left five people injured.

The Eskişehir court on Sept. 24 found Arda Küçükyetim guilty of four counts of attempted premeditated murder, handing him four 15-year terms plus an additional 11 years and eight months for the same offense.

He also received three years and nine months in prison for threatening to incite public fear and panic, bringing his total sentence to 75 years and five months.

Küçükyetim carried out the assault on Aug. 12, 2024, attacking people at a tea house in the garden of a mosque in Eskişehir’s Tepebaşı district, as well as at a nearby park and tram stop. The victims were aged between 57 and 87.

Authorities said Küçükyetim broadcast the rampage live with a camera strapped to his body. He wore an assault vest, helmet and glasses, displaying the “black sun” emblem, a symbol linked to neo-Nazis and far-right groups. He was arrested shortly after the attack.