Rape ruling must be corrected, says Turkish deputy prime minister

A high-court ruling to uphold minimum sentences in the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl has “left a stain” on Turkish legal history, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said, adding that the courts must correct the “big mistake.”

“This ruling takes its place in Turkish judiciary history as one of the defective rulings. I hope the deadline for the correction of the ruling has not passed. If not, and if the Supreme Court corrects the ruling, they [could rectify the situation],” Bozdağ told reporters yesterday.

 Bozdağ expressed his unease on the recent court decision to lower sentences for 26 suspects convicted of raping the 13-year-old Mardin girl, known publicly only by her initials, N.Ç. “The ruling hurt public sensitivities as well as me as a human and a legislator.”

The court handed down minimum sentences but could have increased them to the maximum sentences, Bozdağ said, adding that the court erred in using its judicial discretion in favor of the convicts instead of N.Ç.

“What would those judges say if there was such a ruling for their daughters?” he asked.