Turkish newswoman allegedly paralyzed after being beaten by husband

ISTANBUL – Cihan News Agency

A Turkish news presenter has been paralyzed after being beaten by her husband, according to the woman and her family’s statements, while the husband denies the claims.

Kübra Eken, 30, was reportedly unconscious and had already lost the ability to move and speak when she was taken to hospital by her husband just two days after giving birth to a baby boy.

The husband, identified only as N.B.E., told Eken’s family that the woman had fallen ill due to the caesarean section operation she had while at the hospital giving birth. However, the family learned two months later that Eken had lost consciousness after being beaten, which they learned from the doctor who had conducted the woman’s surgery.

The family discovered a police report of battery charges had been prepared on June 22, 2013, after notification from hospital officials. The family then became involved in the ongoing investigation into the incident and opened a lawsuit.

Eken, who could not testify previously because of her condition, answered questions by touching single letters of the alphabet one at a time during the last hearing.

She said her husband, “hit her in the head with his hand four times,” adding that he had not beaten her before.

Meanwhile, a forensic medical report confirmed that Eken was paralyzed by the beating, citing that the bruise on her ear could not emerge naturally or as a result of the C-section operation, nor is spontaneous cerebral bleeding common after giving birth.

Eken’s mother, Nuran Yelkcenci, said the couple had problems after they got married, but her daughter gave up on the idea of divorce when she learned she was pregnant.

“What we understand from her Facebook messages [with her friends], her husband told her ‘give birth to the baby and leave,’” Yelkenci said. “He did not want us [with her]. There was nobody with her but her husband when she had a cerebral hemorrhage.”

Yelkenci added that the husband and his family have not allowed them to see the baby.

Eken’s brother said the husband’s family is deliberately separating Eken from her son.

“We have opened a lawsuit. They brought the child [to the hospital] once in the company of a pedagogue and psychologist. The sister of the husband told me that ‘if Kübra wants to see the child, she should change her testimony,’” said Eken’s brother.

The husband has denied all accusations, saying that Eken and her family are lying. He vowed that the "facts would emerge after the lawsuit is concluded."