Court to protect domestic violence victim TV host

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Family and Social policies minister Fatma Şahin (C) says the law will be applied to everyone. AA photo

A court in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district has issued restraining orders for prime ministry inspector Eyüp Özgüç for beating his wife, an anchorwoman employed by the Al Jazeerea Turk, as well as her aunt.

“It is irrelevant where the perpetrator of the violence is employed, or what his name might be. The law will be applied to everyone,” Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin said about the incident while attending a program in Istanbul.

Barred from seeing wife

Özgüç will now be barred from approaching his wife, her workplace, and from calling
her by phone for a duration of six months. He is also obliged to hand over his licensed weapon to the police. Özgüç could be sentenced to a prison term if he fails to comply with the orders.

The incident reportedly broke out when the couple began to argue upon their return from a dinner onboard a private yacht owned by Metin Şentürk, a well-known singer.

Özgüç reportedly lost his temper when their house servants failed to open the door promptly and consequently proceeded to break the door himself. Özgüç then attacked his wife, Serra Karaçam, while they were still arguing, according to allegations.

“We are closely following how the process [unfolds]. The judicial investigation has already begun, and we are waiting for its conclusion. We are now intervening as a ministry and stepping into judicial processes. Our own legal experts side with the victims. For that reason, we are also a party [to this case] on behalf of the child and the woman,” Şahin added.

Serra Karaçam’s aunt, Neşe Han, who was present in the same building to visit her father upstairs, descended to the ground floor when she overheard the noise coming from the quarreling couple. When she asked Özgüç what was going on, however, Özgüç also punched her.

Later reports revealed there were numerous bruise marks and fissures on Han’s head and
body. Serra Karaçam then filed a formal complaint indicating that her aunt had been beaten by her spouse and that her life was also in peril.

The couple had been wed for two years and have a single child, according to reports.