Appeals court overturns defendant’s acquittal, gives prison sentence for rape

* csgorselarsiv/İzel Sezer

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"In this country, women live without an awareness of being the subjects of abuse; this judicial process has led us to a conclusion where my client first lost her self-belief, then has felt like new again...

"Throughout this case, we listened to this male-dominant cliche of 'We were drunk, she already liked me, she didn't resist...' and all those narratives of defense disregarding women; we tried to refute them..."

This is how lawyer Seda Rozerin Kip summarizes the legal struggle that she waged together with her client Gökçe.

Gökçe announced that her father's friend M.A. sexually assaulted her in Kınalıada, one of the Princes' Islands in İstanbul, on the new year's eve of 2018. After the local court ruled for the defendant's acquittal, the case was taken to the appeals court. The appeals court has given its ruling.

Following the assault, a lawsuit was filed at the İstanbul Anadolu 2nd Heavy Penal Court and defendant M.A. was put on trial on charge of "sexual assault." At the final hearing of the case held on November 20, 2019, the court board acquitted M.A. despite the prosecutor's request for arrest. The acquittal of the defendant caused a public outrage. Gökçe's lawyer Seda Rozerin Kip appealed against the local court ruling.

The 20th Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice held a hearing yesterday (July 5) and overturned the acquittal given by the local court. The appeals court has ruled that male defendant M.A. shall be sentenced to 12 years in prison and imposed an international travel ban.

'Court acquitted him despite concrete evidence'

Speaking to bianet about the judicial process, lawyer Kip says:

"The struggle that we waged - though the file was full of concrete evidence - is priceless; but, thinking of how women will defend themselves after the withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention is frightening.

"We struggled so hard in this case, which was full of evidence, we will do so, too; but the absence of İstanbul Convention protects perpetrators.

'Defendant must be arrested'

We have endless respect for the judges who have handed down an impartial, objective and unanimous verdict based on the entire evidence at the appeals court while the local court held a trial guided by patriarchy.

"We need to put our trust in this and we need to lead a life where we are not ashamed of being women. My client has been born again after three and a half years. We don't give up on this case for the defendant's arrest." (EMK/SD)