A court in the northwestern city of Sakarya sentenced two men to double aggravated life sentences for the brutal killing of a pregnant Syrian woman and her 10-month-old baby boy.

Emani al-Rahmun and her son Halaf were found beaten to death in a forest after they disappeared from their home in the city's Kaynarca district in July 2017. Birol Karacal and Celal Bay, who were acquaintances of the young woman's husband Khalid al-Rahmun, were arrested for the two murders and the rape of Emani al-Rahmun. Both suspects admitted the rape but blamed each other for the murders.

Along with life sentences, the court handed down an additional 72 years in prison for Karacal and Bay for other crimes. The two defendants testified that they had plotted to rape Emani al-Rahmun and kidnapped her from her home while Khalid al-Rahmun was at work.