Daesh member gets life in prison for killing Syrian journalist

A court in Turkey's south-eastern Gaziantep province handed out two life sentences for Yusuf Hamed Eshverihi – for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and for murder.

Syrian journalist Naji al Jerf was shot dead in Gaziantep, Turkey, on December 27, 2015.
TRT World and Agencies

Syrian journalist Naji al Jerf was shot dead in Gaziantep, Turkey, on December 27, 2015.

A Turkish court handed down two life sentences to a member of Daesh convicted of killing Syrian journalist and activist Naji al Jerf.

On Friday, a court in the south-eastern province of Gaziantep sentenced Yusuf Hamed Eshverihi to life in prison for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and for murder.

Three other suspects – Farag Al-Hussein, Ali Cerkez and Reyad Matar – were acquitted over a lack of evidence.

Who is Jerf?

Jerf, who was 37, was shot dead in 2016 in Gaziantep, which is home to several thousand Syrian refugees.

He had been vocal about the atrocities of the Assad regime, which made him a target and forced him to flee to Turkey. Once in Turkey, he made two anti-Daesh films.

Jerf was about to leave Turkey for France with his family, where he had been granted asylum, when he was killed.

Turkey hosts a few million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when Bashar al Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which erupted as part of the uprisings taking place in several Arab countries – with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.

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