Hearing of child abuse case adjourned to July 17

ISTANBUL

The hearing of the Hiranur Foundation’s founder for forcibly marrying off his six-year-old daughter to a 29-year-old man in 2004 was adjourned to July 17, while the court decided to continue the detention of the defendants.

The hearing in Istanbul started at around 10 a.m. on June 5. It was learned from local media that one witness was heard during the trial which lasted about two hours.

It was stated that the prosecutor requested additional time to present their final opinion.

The court accepted the request and decided to continue the detention of defendants Kadir İstekli, the sect member the child was married to, and Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, the victim’s father, and adjourned the trial to July 17.

Previously, the woman who goes by the initials H.K.G., reportedly claimed that her father, the head of the İsmailağa Jamia-affiliated Hiranur Foundation, set up her imam marriage in 2004, when she was only six years old.

When a daily broke the story, the accusations hit the national news and sparked an eruption of profanity-laced posts on social media.

H.K.G. claimed in her lawsuit that the sect member’s marriage to her was portrayed to her as a “child play,” and she had years of sexual assault as a youngster, something she just came to terms with as an adult.

The indictment requested a prison sentence of not less than 30 years for İstekli and not less than 18 years for father Gümüşel and mother Fatima Gümüşel.

Gümüşel and İstekli, who were transferred to the courthouse after their procedures at the police station, were arrested on Dec. 15, 2022, and sent to prison.