One of the 12 suspects arrested after rape of 14-year-old girl

ŞANLIURFA

Police detained 12 suspects, arresting one of them, on Nov. 10 after a 14-year-old girl in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa said she had been raped multiple times by 12 people, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The incident was revealed after the girl was admitted to state hospital in Şanlıurfa’s Suruç district and was revealed to be at least six months pregnant after medical examinations.  

The doctor, who completed her medical examination, informed the police and filed a complaint over her rape. 

The 14-year-old girl testified at the police station and said she was raped multiple times in the barn of her house, by 12 men, including her neighbor. 

Police detained the 12 suspects who were identified by the police following her testimony.

The suspects were referred to court after their testimonies. One of the suspects, who was the girl’s neighbor, was arrested according to the court’s decision.

The girl has been taken under legal state protection after being guided to the provincial directorate of social policies. 

Recently, on June 17, 2015, the body of 18-year-old Turkish girl Cansu Kaya was found in a canal in the western province of Muğla. The autopsy report had revealed the girl was raped before her death.

Public debate around violence against women flared in Turkey in 2015 after the burned body of 20-year-old university student Özgecan Aslan was found in a river bed in the southern province of Mersin on Feb. 11. The driver of the minibus she took to return home confessed to the murder. He was later sentenced to life along with two of his accomplices, but was shot dead in prison in April 2015.