Only suspect under arrest in Bingöl sex abuse case released

BİNGÖL - Doğan News Agency

The decision immediately prompted a response from the lawyers of the victim, with Canan Çakabey describing the ruling as “damaging the public conscience.” DHA Photo

The only suspect under arrest in the ongoing case over the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl was released on Sept. 3, further fueling the controversy of the much-debated case.

Eight sergeants in total have been accused of repeatedly abusing the girl over the course of two years in Turkey’s Bingöl province, but all seven were later released pending trial. The final suspect, who has been under arrest since the scandal erupted, was released after a court decision on Sept. 3.

The decision immediately prompted a response from the lawyers of the victim, with Canan Çakabey describing the ruling as “damaging the public conscience.”

“The court made decisions that we weren’t expecting. We asked for the arrest of the suspects, but the court rejected that, instead going for judicial attendance and a ban on leaving the country,” Çakabey told Doğan News Agency.

Diyarbakır Lawyers’ Bar President Tahir Elçi also targeted the court over the controversial release, saying it was impossible to grasp as “Turkish judiciary [usually] picks out the longest arrest periods even for the minor crimes.”

Bingöl Lawyers’ Bar President Erdal Aydemir also heavily criticized the decision, describing the release as “the murder of law.”

“The decision of the court is a kind of murder. If it was committed by a person it would have been one. The decision made here today and the rejection of the arrests to us is the murder of the law,” Aydemir said.

The 16-year-old victim, identified only by the initials E.A., lives in the Solhan district of Bingöl and reportedly filed an official complaint last month, in which she stated that five sergeants had repeatedly sexually abused and raped her over the last two years. The Ministry of Family and Social Policies has also been involved in the case, sending lawyers and social experts to Bingöl.