Abusive man to face all preventive measures in unprecedented ruling

Mesut Hasan Benli – ANKARA

An Ankara court has for the first time in Turkey ruled that a suspect of domestic violence be subject to almost all measures indicated in the law to stop him from inflicting violence on his ex-wife.

The ruling concerns the man, identified only as Veli A., who, despite having previously found guilty of stabbing his former wife, continued to threaten the woman with death.

Veli A. was jailed in 2014 for stabbing his former wife, Türkan A. But he did not stop his threats even after being released from prison, which led the woman to apply to the authorities once again. Despite having been banned from contacting Türkan A. and being issued a restraining order, the suspect had tried to approach the woman on many occasions.

In a ruling handed down on Nov. 9, the Ankara Second Family Court ruled that in addition to having been issued a restraining order, Veli A. be taken in for an anger management program, be admitted to psychiatric hospital for a period of six months, and wear an electronic bracelet.

The court also ruled that in the event of a violation of these measures, the suspect would be jailed from three to 10 days. The court ruling was hailed for being the first time all these preventive measures were applied to a domestic violence suspect in the country.

The court based its decision on a report prepared by the Ankara Governor’s Office’s prevention and monitoring violence center, which said the formerly issued restraining order was “insufficient” to protect the woman.

“Türkan A. has stated that her former husband’s threats continued, she did not contact any other man not to risk their lives as her former husband could inflict violence, the current measures were still intact, but these had remained insufficient, she had no security of life, and she was living on the edge,” the report said.