Cihan Can was killed on 27 December 2019 when he was run over by an armoured police bus driven by police officer Hakan Avcı while crossing Turgut Özal Boulevard in Diyarbakır.
A traffic accident report prepared by traffic police the same day stated that Avcı ran over Cihan Can while turning right into 339th Street. The collision occurred at night, when the road was wet from rain, and the vehicle’s speed was recorded as 50 km/h. The report found Avcı primarily at fault for failing to give way to a pedestrian crossing the road while he was making a right turn, as required under Article 53/2 of the Highway Traffic Law. Cihan Can was found secondarily at fault for failing to make himself visible to the driver.
The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation the same day. Hakan Avcı said that he worked for the Riot Police Branch and had been turning right from Turgut Özal Boulevard into the street when he felt the vehicle jolt. He initially thought that a piece of firewood from a nearby bakery had gone under the vehicle. When he stopped, he saw Cihan Can under the rear wheel. He said that he moved the vehicle slightly forward to free him and that Cihan Can was then taken to hospital.
Avcı argued that the mirrors of the armoured vehicle fogged up in rainy weather, obstructing his view, and that the collision had occurred in the vehicle’s blind spot.
Police officer M.B., who was in the armoured vehicle at the time, said that it had been travelling at around 5–10 km/h, that he had not seen anyone in front of the vehicle during the turn, and that the vehicle stopped after they felt a jolt. A.O., who was interviewed on 28 December 2019, said that he had witnessed the collision from another vehicle. He said that the armoured vehicle’s front wheel had run over Cihan Can and that it continued for a short distance before stopping. He then helped the police push the vehicle so that Cihan Can could be freed from underneath it.
On 7 January 2020, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an indictment against Hakan Avcı. Relying on the traffic accident report, which had found Avcı primarily at fault, the prosecutor sought his conviction for causing death by negligence under Article 85/1 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The first hearing before the Diyarbakır 11th Criminal Court of First Instance was held on 16 October 2020. Hakan Avcı attended by video link through SEGBİS. In addition to his earlier statement, he said that a plastic screen at the front of the armoured vehicle made it difficult to see outside and reduced visibility by around 50 per cent in the evening.
Cihan Can’s family said that they did not believe his death had been an accident and pursued their complaint against Avcı. Their lawyer argued that the act had been intentional rather than negligent and requested that the case be transferred to the Assize Court. The court rejected the request, allowed the family to join the proceedings, and referred the case to the Traffic Specialisation Department of the Council of Forensic Medicine for an assessment of fault.
At the second hearing on 15 January 2021, the family’s lawyer requested that Avcı appear in person, that an on-site inspection be conducted, and that the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers be asked whether the armoured vehicle had been modified in ways that affected the driver’s field of vision. Counsel also argued that footage of the incident showed the vehicle travelling at high speed and that it was impossible for Avcı not to have seen Cihan Can. The request to transfer the case to the Assize Court was renewed.
The court ordered an on-site inspection, a report from a traffic expert, and the collection of camera footage showing the incident.
The on-site inspection took place on 13 September 2021. In an expert report dated 18 October 2021, a mechanical engineer and a forensic traffic instructor found that both the front and rear wheels of the armoured vehicle had run over Cihan Can. Taking into account the weight of the vehicle, the slope of the road and the fact that it jolted three times before stopping, they found that the vehicle had been travelling at high speed and that Avcı had been extremely careless and had failed to take the necessary precautions.
The experts also found that Avcı had taken the right turn at a wide angle and that the point of impact was therefore not in the vehicle’s blind spot. They found Avcı 80 per cent at fault for breaching traffic rules on speed, turning and giving way to pedestrians, and Cihan Can 20 per cent at fault for failing to take sufficient care while crossing.
The court subsequently referred the case to the Traffic Specialisation Department of the Council of Forensic Medicine. In its report of 28 February 2022, the Department found that Avcı was required to keep his field of vision under control while turning right. Given the direction in which Cihan Can was crossing, the report found that he could not have taken precautions against a bus approaching from behind and outside his field of vision.
The report concluded that Avcı had struck Cihan Can without giving way or taking the necessary precautions and found him primarily at fault. Cihan Can was found not at fault.
After defence counsel argued that the fault assessments in the case file were inconsistent, the court decided on 23 May 2022 to refer the case to the General Assembly of the Council of Forensic Medicine. An expanded panel report received by the court by the hearing on 26 December 2022 found Hakan Avcı 100 per cent at fault and Cihan Can not at fault.
On 3 May 2023, the case file was sent to the public prosecutor to prepare the opinion on the merits. At the hearing on 10 July 2023, the prosecutor submitted the opinion and sought Hakan Avcı’s conviction for causing death by negligence under Article 85/1 of the Turkish Penal Code.
At the final hearing on 4 September 2023, the Diyarbakır 11th Criminal Court of First Instance found Hakan Avcı guilty of causing death by negligence and sentenced him to three years and six months in prison. The sentence was reduced to two years and eleven months for good conduct and was then converted into a judicial fine of TRY 21,200.
The judgment was appealed. The 10th Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeal upheld the appeals by the intervening parties and overturned the judgment. Among the reasons given, the Chamber noted that Avcı had shown no concrete remorse during the proceedings, that the case file contained no information or documents showing that he had compensated Cihan Can’s family for their pecuniary or non-pecuniary losses, and that the prison sentence had been converted into a fine without any assessment of Avcı’s financial circumstances. The Chamber also found that the lower court had failed to apply Article 53/6 of the Turkish Penal Code, which provides for restrictions on certain rights, despite finding Avcı fully at fault.
The first hearing after the case resumed was held on 10 February 2025. At the hearing on 30 April 2025, members of the Can family gave statements, and the case file was sent to the public prosecutor to prepare the opinion on the merits. On 22 December 2025, the prosecutor submitted the opinion and, as before, sought Hakan Avcı’s conviction for causing death by negligence.
At the latest hearing on 20 April 2026, the court sentenced police officer Hakan Avcı to three years and six months in prison for causing death by negligence. The sentence was reduced to two years and eleven months in prison. The court decided not to defer the pronouncement of the judgment (HAGB) and suspended Avcı’s driving licence for one year.