15-year-old girl killed by family after being raped by cousins

DİYARBAKIR

The body of the girl, identified as Hasret, was found two years ago at a sand quarry near Batman Brook. DHA Photo

A prosecution into the murder of a 15-year-old girl in Batman two years ago has revealed that she was murdered by her uncles after being raped by her cousins.

The body of the girl, identified as Hasret, was found two years ago at a sand quarry near Batman Brook. After leaving her husband, she was raped and killed by her two cousins on the decision of a family council after she got pregnant, daily Sabah reported.

Hasret’s 12 relatives, including her grandfather, grandmother, three uncles, three aunts-in-law and two cousins, are being tried in her murder case. They face life imprisonment for “instigating and murdering a pregnant woman on grounds of tribal motives.”

The suspects have reportedly placed blame on each other in the latest hearing, denying that the woman was killed by a decision agreed upon by family members.

“My cousin Garip told me that his son Serhıldan and my son Özcan raped Hasret and got her pregnant. He told me that the baby should be aborted, as the father was uncertain. Hasret, Garip and I went to the Batman Brook. I was drunk. I don’t remember the rest. But no one directed me to go there. The family council did not make a decision [to kill her],” said Habip Daşlı, who is accused of strangling the woman.

Serhıldan Daşlı, who was identified as the father of the baby via a DNA test, denied that he raped Hasret.

“I had intercourse with [Hasret] on her will. I did not rape her. I did not know she was murdered,” he said.

During the hearing the other suspect, Özcan Daşlı, also denied raping Hasret.

Hasret’s mother said that Garip Daşlı took Hasret from her home after saying he would take her to the doctor. She only pressed charges against Serhıldan Daşlı.

“My daughter told me that Özcan and Serhıldan Daşlı raped her on different dates, but she did not know the father of the baby. We were planning to leave the baby to an orphans’ home after it was born, without the men of the family noticing. But the situation was heard,” she said.

Intervening lawyers from the Family and Social Policies Ministry said Hasret’s mother could not testify against all family members; she has been under pressure as a widow who needs the family’s support to live, they said.