Turkish notary fails to report child bride, draws prosecutor's ire

TEKİRDAĞ

Hürriyet photo

The parents of a 14-year-old girl obtained a notarized document stating they were willing for their daughter to marry a man 11 years her senior. The scandal came to light after 14-year-old F.R. became pregnant by her 25-year-old husband, E.D., daily Milliyet reported on its website today. 

F.R.'s parents, D.Y. and G.Y., applied to a notary official in Tekirdağ's Hayrabolu district to prepare “official” papers in which they gave their consent to the marriage of their daughter F.R. to E.D. The incident came to the attention of judicial authorities when the pregnant F.R. came to a hospital.

The public prosecutor in Hayrabolu investigated F.R.’s parents, charging them with sexual abuse, and also launched a probe into the notary who certified the illegal marriage. The notary could be charged as "a civil servant fail[ing] to report criminal activity," because he did not report the marriage of a minor.

Turkish citizens younger than 16 years of age cannot legally marry, according to Turkish law.