A man sentenced to 36 years' hard labour in Turkey for killing a Sunday school teacher in East Sussex is back in the county after spending just a year in jail.

Hakan Thomas Yagiz was handed the punishment in Istanbul in 1999 following a four-year battle to bring him to justice.

He was sentenced for killing nurse and voluntary worker Gill Montgomery at her flat in Cloudsley Road, St Leonards, in April 1995.

But it emerged Yagiz is now back living in East Sussex after being freed under a conditional mass-release of prisoners by the Turkish government.

It is believed he was released with other prisoners from the coastal province of Tekirdag a year ago.

However, police in Sussex only learned of his premature release when his name cropped up during a domestic incident in East Sussex last week.

Gill's family today said they were "appalled" at the news and that his freedom means other people are now at risk.

In a statement, her sister Elspeth Pratt said: "The family is appalled to hear of Yagiz's premature release, especially after all the intensive efforts put in by Sussex Police to secure a conviction in the Turkish court.

"The release of this evil man within only a year of a sentence of 36 years with hard labour being passed on him not only puts everyone who comes into contact with him at risk but also illustrates what a low value the Turkish government places on human life.

"In view of the fact that Turkey is applying for membership of the European Union, it seems extraordinary that they should show such contempt for the sentence passed by its own judiciary and disregard for the high standard of justice required by the EU members - a standard which Turkey has obviously no intention of trying to achieve.

"Gill is beyond all this now but we continue to remember her with great love and respect for her kindness to all and her courage in facing all that life threw at her."

Police, meanwhile, are now investigating why the early release was sanctioned.

Chief Superintendent Dick Barton of Hastings police said today: "Clearly we're surprised and disappointed that the Turkish government has done this.

"It appears there has been a conditional mass release of prisoners by the Turkish government which Yagiz has taken advantage of.

"It has meant he has been released much, much earlier than we would have wanted. We are now liaising with Gill's family, who have expressed their disappointment.

"We are also working with other government agencies to find out how we arrived at the position we are now in."

Divorcee Gill, 53, was found in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor after a neighbour called to say water was pouring from her ceiling.

Tests showed she died from a single stab wound to the neck. Weeks later an unlawful killing verdict was returned at her inquest.

Murder squad detectives launched a major hunt following the killing, which struck fear across Hastings and St Leonards.

At first they believed she was the victim of a bogus water board official who snapped when Gill caught him stealing her belongings.

But then detectives received a tip that hairdresser Yagiz, then 24, could be a suspect.

A search of his flat in Southwater Road, St Leonards, revealed bloodstained clothing and a cache of deadly weapons.

Yagiz, who has dual Turkish and British nationality, was traced to Turkey, where he had fled to join the army.

Police fought to extradite him and successfully applied for an arrest warrant in Britain.

But Turkish officials resisted stiff British pressure and said Yagiz would be tried in Turkey under their own penal code.

In May 1999 Yagiz was found guilty of Gill's killing but escaped the maximum sentence of execution, receiving instead 36 years' hard labour.

Now, with his early release, comes further anguish for Gill's family.

Detectives said it was a heinous crime against a selfless woman who spent her whole life looking after others.

Gill worked as a nursing sister at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, while serving as a church elder for St Luke's Church in Silverhill, St Leonards.

She was also a Sunday school teacher and youth leader. After retiring due to illness she continued working at the Conquest as a volunteer, comforting the sick.

Later it emerged that Yagiz's brother Tony had helped police. He shared an £8,000 reward with another Hastings man for supplying vital information.