Yargıtay overturns compensation ruling in Antalya jewelry robbery death

The Turkish Supreme Court (Yargıtay) has overturned a lower court's decision to award approximately 4.68 million TL in compensation to the family of Abuzer Atakan Gür, a jewelry store employee killed during an armed robbery in Antalya in October 2021. While the Antalya 4th Labor Court had previously ruled that the employer was liable due to inadequate security measures, such as the lack of an alarm system and risk assessment, the Supreme Court ruled that the “heavy fault of a third party” (the robber) broke the causal link regarding the employer's liability.

The perpetrator, Serdar Ö., was previously sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the premeditated murder and robbery. The victim's family and their lawyers have expressed strong opposition to the Supreme Court's ruling, questioning whether a criminal's intent should absolve an employer of their duty to ensure worker safety.

In a separate legal matter, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek met with the family of Emir Yuşa Atıcı in Trabzon. Atıcı, who was 15 when he was killed by a stray bullet five years ago, is the subject of a renewed investigation. The Ministry of Justice has tasked a special team from the Department of Unsolved Crimes to re-examine all evidence to identify those responsible for the shooting.