Suspect accused of trying to rape Dutch tourist arrested in Istanbul

Çetin Aydın - ISTANBUL

A suspect accused of trying to rape a Dutch university student in Istanbul’s Şişli district was arrested on Aug. 30, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The attempted rape is reported to have occurred in the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery, after the suspect tracked the 19-year-old victim.

The woman, visiting Istanbul as a tourist, reportedly entered the cemetery after getting lost. After following her into the cemetery, the suspect asked her to drink tea with him but the woman did not reply to the offer, according to the police records. He then pretended to faint and attacked the woman after she approached to help him.

Two gardeners in the cemetery arrived at the scene after hearing the young woman’s call and the attacker fled the scene.

The gardeners informed the police and the Şişli Police Department opened an investigation into the incident. Police detained the suspect after he was identified by the victim.

The woman said she bit the attacker’s wrist as she tried to escape from him.

“I saw that he had fainted and I thought it was because he was grieving for someone in the cemetery. I wanted to help him but when I approached he held my arm. I bit his wrist to escape,” she reportedly said in her testimony.  

The suspect denied the accusations but was subsequently arrested by the court, based on the bite mark in his skin from the woman.