TURKEY: A young Turkish man was sentenced to 15 years in jail at the end of a two-year legal battle for the murder two years ago of two Leeds United soccer fans in violence that has raised tension at matches between Turkish and British teams ever since.
A court in Istanbul imposed penalties on six other defendants for the killings of Kevin Speight (40) and Christopher Loftus (36) who were stabbed to death during a clash with Turkish fans on April 5th, 2000, ahead of a UEFA Cup game between Leeds and Galatasaray.
But all the sentences were significantly reduced after the prosecution said the crime had been committed under "provocation" by Leeds fans and cited the defendants' good behaviour in court.
The attorneys for both the convicted murderer and one of the victim's family said they would appeal the verdict.
The main defendant, Ali Umit Demir, an unemployed 23-year-old, was first sentenced to 48 years in jail on two counts of murder, but his sentence was reduced to 15 years.
The judge also decided that his 25-month detention in prison since the start of the trial would be subtracted from the term.
Demir was the only defendant to have admitted using a knife during the clashes, though he insisted there had been "provocation" by Leeds fans.
The prosecution said the fight was provoked by Leeds fans who "disturbed passers-by, broke car and shop windows, burnt Turkish banknotes" and rubbed the Turkish flag against their genitals.