Turkish court stiffens sentence for Scottish toddler murder

A Turkish court today ruled that a man accused of shooting a Scots toddler killed the youngster deliberately, his family said.

Two-year-old Alistair Grimason died when he was shot during a gunfight in a café in Foca, Turkey, last July.

The man accused of killing the East Kilbride toddler claimed his death had been an accident.

But today a Turkish judge ruled that the charge against Daimi Akyuz be changed from accidental murder to murder.

Alistair’s father, David Grimason, aged 32, and mother Ozlem, aged 29, travelled to Turkey for today’s hearing.

The couple were “delighted” with the judge’s decision, said Alistair’s grandfather, also David, who spoke to his son this evening.

He said: “We are all very pleased with the outcome today.

“The judge today agreed with what we have believed all along, namely that the bad man purposely fired in Alistair’s direction and therefore purposely killed him.

“The charge has been changed from accidental murder to murder which pleases us, but it continues to horrify us in that a man could do such a thing.

“It’s a horrific thing but it is a big relief to know that the court agrees with what we have felt all along and that he will get punished for murder, not for what he pretended was an accident.”

Following Alistair’s death, his parents mounted a high-profile campaign to change Turkey’s lenient gun laws. Mr Grimason said he believed their efforts had already made a difference.

“Alistair’s case is so high profile in Turkey and the Turkish people have just had enough of the whole gun culture,” he said.

“I thoroughly believe that what David and Ozlem have done in Alistair’s name has actually saved lives already, so something has come out of this evil.”

Akyuz’s case is due to come before the court again on June 11, when the family hope he will be sentenced.

Speaking from his home in East Kilbride, Mr Grimason snr said: “The top sentence for killing Alistair is 24 years and the sentence for killing the other man is the same, then there are still the sentences for the other two people he wounded.

“Unlike here in Turkey the sentences are added on. What we are hoping and praying for is that he gets 50-plus years so that he can harm no more children.

“Hopefully he will get the maximum sentence and we can go down to Alistair and tell him that he can never harm him or any other kiddie again,” he said.