5 Officers Sentenced in Detainee’s Death

Five police officers were sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for beating to death a 27-year-old journalist under detention. A three-judge panel in Afyon, about 150 miles west of Ankara, the capital, convicted the officers of killing Metin Goktepe by kicking, punching and beating him with truncheons Jan. 9, 1996. Six other officers were acquitted. Prosecutors had sought the maximum 15-year sentence for the officers accused of inflicting the fatal blows. The trial was seen as a test of the government’s promise to crack down on torture and abuses by security forces, but rights activists doubt that it will deter police brutality. Goktepe’s lawyers said they will appeal.