Man who kicked woman on Istanbul bus for wearing shorts released again
ISTANBUL
A Turkish man arrested for kicking a young woman in the face on a public bus for wearing shorts was released yet again on Nov. 1. An Istanbul criminal court revoked the arrest warrant for assailant Abdullah Çakıroğlu and released him again pending the next hearing in the trial.
The court had rearrested the man, who assaulted a woman on an Istanbul public bus in September, a day after prosecutors objected to his release pending trial during the first court hearing on Oct. 26
Speaking at court before he was rearrested, Çakıroğlu said he had been tortured during his earlier detention.
“I was tortured in jail. They beat me on my knees. I have no security of life in jail and I request that it is provided,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an interview conducted before the latest arrest warrant was issued, the victim of the widely covered assault, Ayşegül Terzi, said she felt “imprisoned inside home” while Çakıroğlu “remains on the streets.”
Terzi was kicked in the face by Çakıroğlu for wearing shorts on a public bus in Istanbul on Sept. 12. Çakıroğlu said he committed the act because he did not find Terzi’s outfit “appropriate.”
Injured after the assault, Terzi filed criminal complaints against Çakıroğlu and he was briefly arrested before a court ruled to release him. Upon public outrage over his release, he was re-arrested and stood in the dock for his initial hearing that took place at an Istanbul court on Oct. 26.
Before being released by the court after his first hearing, Çakıroğlu testified that his kick came “impulsively” and he blamed his epilepsy illness.
The court had rearrested the man, who assaulted a woman on an Istanbul public bus in September, a day after prosecutors objected to his release pending trial during the first court hearing on Oct. 26
Speaking at court before he was rearrested, Çakıroğlu said he had been tortured during his earlier detention.
“I was tortured in jail. They beat me on my knees. I have no security of life in jail and I request that it is provided,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an interview conducted before the latest arrest warrant was issued, the victim of the widely covered assault, Ayşegül Terzi, said she felt “imprisoned inside home” while Çakıroğlu “remains on the streets.”
Terzi was kicked in the face by Çakıroğlu for wearing shorts on a public bus in Istanbul on Sept. 12. Çakıroğlu said he committed the act because he did not find Terzi’s outfit “appropriate.”
Injured after the assault, Terzi filed criminal complaints against Çakıroğlu and he was briefly arrested before a court ruled to release him. Upon public outrage over his release, he was re-arrested and stood in the dock for his initial hearing that took place at an Istanbul court on Oct. 26.
Before being released by the court after his first hearing, Çakıroğlu testified that his kick came “impulsively” and he blamed his epilepsy illness.
