Military officer remanded in custody for child abuse in southeastern Turkey

Photo: Zeynep Kuray

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A specialist sergeant has been remanded in custody after allegedly abusing a 10-year-old girl in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

The incident happened at around 11 p.m. last night (July 14) in a housing estate in the city center and the perpetrator was caught by people who heard the girl screaming, the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reported.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şırnak MP Nuran İmir said on Twitter that "Eyewitnesses also confirmed the incident of harassment. The judiciary should do what is necessary. We will never stop pursuing the incident."

Hüseyin Kaçmaz, another HDP deputy from Şırnak, also tweeted that people shouldn't be silent against child abuse.

Çocuklarımızın geleceğini tacizcilere bırakmayacağız
Dün gece Şırnak Şaranlar sitesinde bir uzman çavuş 10 yaşındaki bir çocuğu taciz etmiştir
Görgü tanıklarıda yaşanan taciz olayını teyit etmiştir
Yargı derhal gereğini yapmalıdır
Olayın peşini asla bırakmayacağız.#susmaşırnak pic.twitter.com/f0fYu5eLUx

— Nuran imir (@nuran_imir73) July 15, 2020

Şırnak Governor's Office released a statement today, saying that a public official named A.A. was taken into custody after disturbing the people around him. The person was drunk at the time of the incident, it added.

Şırnak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the incident and A.A. has been suspended from duty, the governor's office noted.

In his statement to the prosecutor's office the suspect rejected the allegations of child abuse and stated that he was drunk. He was remanded in custody by a judgeship on duty.

People reacted to the incident on Twitter under the "Don't be silent, Şırnak" (#SusmaŞırnak) hashtag. A group of people also staged a protest today at the city center.

The Şırnak Bar Association stated that it worked for the inclusion of the statement the aggrieved person, witness statements and camera footage in the investigation file. (EMK/VK)