The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday prepared an indictment asking for 12.5 years in prison for Turkish footballer Arda Turan on multiple charges, and two years for pop singer Berkay after a high-profile spat.
Turan attacked Berkay last week at an Istanbul nightclub and broke his nose. He then confronted the pop singer at the hospital where he was taken for surgery, clutching a gun and begging to be forgiven.
The prosecutor's office charged Turan with sexual harassment, possession of unlicensed weapons, deliberately endangering general security and deliberate wounding. Berkay was also charged with defamation, while threat charges against him were dropped.
The court accepted the indictment on Wednesday and set the date of the hearing for Jan. 30.
Berkay's lawyer Ayşegül Mermer on Monday submitted a petition to the prosecutor's office for Turan's arrest over the incident.
Last Thursday, Turan was taken to the Beşiktaş police headquarters but left after three hours of interrogation.
In his most recent statement, Berkay apologized to his own wife and Turan's wife Aslıhan Doğan for the events and said: "I have full confidence in justice. Arda Turan will serve his sentence."
According to the initial report by Habertürk, Berkay was with his wife, Özlem Ada Şahin, at an establishment in upscale Emirgan neighborhood early last week when the incident happened.
Şahin said Turan told her he would have liked to make a move on her if he were not married to Doğan.
Before Berkay had an opportunity to respond, Turan attacked the pop singer, who was then taken directly to the hospital for surgery, Şahin said.
In a bizarre sequence of events, Turan then went to the hospital where the singer was being treated clutching a gun and begging to be shot and forgiven, Habertürk said.
Turan later took to Twitter to explain the situation, stating that it was just a misunderstanding, not a matter of honor, and that both parties sorted it out.
The Medipol Başakşehir midfielder has a history of stirring up trouble, most recently garnering a $9,200 fine and 16-match ban after attacking an assistant referee during a Turkish Super League match.
In 2017, Turan was forced to take a break from his career after being sacked from the Turkish national football team squad by then-manager Fatih Terim upon verbally and physically assaulting a Turkish sports journalist on a plane that was carrying the national team from Macedonia's Skopje to Italy's Trieste.
