No jail time for Somali president’s son over deadly crash in Turkey

Ezgi Akin

Jan 16, 2024

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (L) is welcomed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during an official welcoming ceremony at Presidential Complex in Ankara on April 26, 2017. — ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

ANKARA — A Turkish court convicted the Somali president’s son, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday over a deadly crash in Istanbul but commuted his sentence to a $907 fine, drawing widespread outcry from the public.

On Nov. 30, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud fatally hit motorcycle courier Yunus Emre Gocer with his car in Istanbul. A Turkish prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Mohamud after Gocer died on Dec. 6 but he left the country on Dec. 2. The belated warrant and Mohamud’s departure provoked strong reactions from Turkish opposition parties. Main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel accused the government of covering up the incident.

In a bid to mitigate the public outcry, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud dispatched his Turkey-educated defense minister, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, to Turkey on Dec. 18 for a condolence visit to Gocer's wife Oznur Gocer. During the visit, the Somali president also spoke with the wife over the phone.

On Dec. 27, the wife withdrew her complaints, sparking speculation that she received “blood money” from the Somali leader’s family.