The Ghent man of Turkish origin, Osman Calli, sentenced in 2008 to life imprisonment for quadruple homicide, double attempted homicide, arson, carjacking and hostage taking, was released in 2020, confirms Monday the SPF Justice, confirming information from HLN.be .
Transferred to Turkey at the end of June 2013 to serve the rest of his sentence there, he was officially released by the Turkish authorities in 2020, without the Belgian justice being notified. “The Belgian authorities have not been formally informed of a possible release” specified Sharon Beavis of the Communication Department of the FPS Justice.
Let’s get back to the facts. In November 2004, Osman Calli shot dead his wife Teslime and his sister Hacer in his house in Ghent. He had set the house on fire and traveled to Nieuwerkerken near Aalst where he broke into the house of Wendy Blendeman, his ex-wife and mother of his 8-year-old son, who lived there with his boyfriend Henri De Cooman and his mother Marie-Louise De Rop. Osman Calli opened fire and killed his ex-wife and mother. The spouse, hit by a bullet in the chest, survived. The killer then committed a carjacking and forced the driver to bring him back to Ghent. There he forced his way into the home of a man he mistakenly suspected of adultery with his wife. The latter, injured by bullet, has been paralyzed since. In 2008, Osman Calli was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ghent Assize Court, but the ten years of court order requested by the public prosecutor were not imposed.
“I’m free as a bird”
Since his return to his native land, Osman Calli was the subject of many rumors, as relayed by HLN. Some say he was released six months after his arrival, others that he received a presidential pardon or that he returned discreetly and freely to Belgium. In truth, he benefited from Turkish law, according to which early release is possible as soon as two-fifths of the sentence incurred have passed.
His lawyer, Me Ergun Top told HLN that his client had indeed been in prison for three years: “Since September 2016, he has enjoyed partial freedom. His incarceration was not marred by any misconduct, which is why he was released on conditions on November 10, 2019, for one year. Since 2020, he is a totally free man.”
VTM managed to contact Osman Calli by phone. “I fulfilled all my obligations (…) I am a free man, free as a bird. Here I enjoy the sun, the sea and the beach. I started a new life, I will soon be the father of a little boy. Now I want to be left alone” defended the main interested party.