An İstanbul court has acquitted A.Ş., an executive of the Service to Quran Foundation, of sexually abusing his daughter, who was found dead alongside her mother after a prolonged campaign for justice. The ruling was protested by women's rights groups and lawyers, who walked out of the courtroom over the handling of the case.
Hifa İkra Şengüler, 8, and her mother, Fatmanur Çelik, 30, were found dead on the coastline in İstanbul's Zeytinburnu district on Mar 3. The circumstances of their deaths remain under investigation.
Before her death, Çelik held a weeks-long public protest demanding justice. She had accused A.Ş. of sexually assaulting her when she was a child and subsequently forcing her into marriage. She also alleged that he began sexually abusing their daughter when the girl was 3 years old.
She repeatedly expressed fears for her safety and warned that any suspicious death should not be treated as suicide.
Protest against court proceedings
Women's rights groups gathered outside the İstanbul Anadolu Courthouse ahead of the hearing at the İstanbul 2nd Heavy Penal Court, demanding justice for Çelik and her daughter.
At the hearing, the prosecutor sought A.Ş.'s acquittal, citing the fact that the complaint had been filed 18 months after the alleged abuse and that there were no witnesses to the incidents. The court complied with the request, prompting protests from lawyers and rights advocated following the hearing. They applauded in protest before leaving the courtroom.
Representatives of several political parties, bar associations and women's organizations attended the hearing, including the Peoples' Equality adn Democracy (DEM) PartyGood (İYİ) Party, New (Yeni) Party, Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), Labor Party (EMEP) and the We Will Stop Femicides Platform.
Müjde Tozbey, president of the Children and Women First Association, who spoke to reporters after the hearing, challenged the prosecution's reasoning. "No abuser has witnesses present when abusing children, and the statute of limitations is 20 years," she said.
She added that Çelik had initially been unable to disclose the alleged abuse because she feared being killed, but later told doctors what had happened. She said medical reports formed the basis of the prosecution.
Tozbey said that the case would remain a focus of their campaign for accountability.
EMEP deputy Sevda Karaca condemned the verdict and criticized the treatment of Çelik and her daughter throughout the judicial proceedings.
"We are angry, we are grieving, but we will continue the struggle," she said. "We have made a promise to Fatmanur and Hifa. We have made a promise to all the women of this country. This struggle did not end here."
DEM deputy Özgül Saki asserted that the ruling egitimized child sexual abuse.
"Fatmanur applied everywhere she could, saying that her child had been abused. While it is clear that she herself was a rape victim and was married to the perpetrator, all the lawyers' requests were rejected in the courtroom today," the lawmaker said.
Mother and daughter's deaths remain under investigation
Çelik had repeatedly approached public institutions seeking protection and action over the alleged abuse of her daughter.
After their bodies were discovered, they were taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute for examination.
The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the deaths, which was placed under a confidentiality order.
Sevda Demirtaş, a lawyer for the Children and Women First Association, said applications had been filed with both a family court and the prosecutor's office handling the investigation.
In a statement following the deaths, the Family and Social Services Ministry had said authorities had taken measures to protect the child but encountered resistance from her mother.
The ministry said a juvenile court had ordered health and counseling measures for the girl. It added that officials had monitored her treatment after learning she had been admitted to a private foundation hospital on Feb 13.
According to the ministry, a medical board had indicated that inpatient psychiatric treatment might be necessary, but Çelik declined the recommended treatment.
The ministry said an emergency protection order was issued for the child on Mar 2 because the child's health was considered at risk.
Officials visited the family's address that day but were unable to reach anyone, it said. Authorities later received information that the mother and daughter had died.
The ministry had also accused some media outlets and civil society organizations of misrepresenting its efforts to protect the child as attempts to separate her from her mother. "It is unacceptable to present steps taken in the best interests of the child in a way that creates a different perception among the public," it had said. (VK)