Lengthy jail term sought for psychiatrist for manipulating children

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Prosecutor's Office has sought 943 years and nine months in prison for a psychiatrist for manipulating children through drugs and hypnosis and then blackmailing their families with false reports of domestic sexual abuse.

In the indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office, it was stated that the suspect, Süleyman Şahin Zoroğlu, quickly diagnosed 21 victimized children aged between 7 and 18 with multiple personality disorder, prescribed “ketamine” - used for anesthesia and can cause memory loss - and asked sexually explicit questions during the sessions.

After taking this medication, the children believed what the psychiatrist told them with another hypnosis method and complained to their families. The children who were administered ketamine were kept either at the clinic or Zoroğlu's house.

In the general evaluation made, it was noted that none of the children went to the clinic due to sexual abuse allegations and that each child applied with complaints such as distraction and exam stress, which can be encountered frequently depending on their age.

The indictment stated that the suspect claimed that his method of identification was unique and that he personally made the scaling for the identification. It was explained that the process that started after the suspect's method of diagnosis proceeded in a way that was completely intertwined with violations of the law.

"I immediately understand the incestuous relationship through a hunch, by looking at it with a spiritual eye," Zoroğlu said.

Despite a clinic in the Bakırköy district having been established only two years ago, it prepared reports on domestic sexual abuse for a total of 40 children and sent them to the prosecutor's offices. All of these reports bore the signature of Zoroğlu, an expert in child sexual abuse cases working at a Forensic Medicine Institution between 2010 and 2016.

Zoroğlu was dismissed from his duty in 2016 over FETÖ membership and was imprisoned for 15 months. In 2017, he was released from prison on furlough due to his mother's illness and subsequently opened a clinic in Bakırköy.