Arrested over child abuse, Islamic cult leader faces up to 55 years in prison

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Having sexually abused a 12-year-old child and introduced himself as the "Uşşaki Islamic Cult Leader Fatih Nurullah," Eyüp Fatih Şağban now faces up to 55 years in prison for "repeated sexual abuse of children" and "deprivation of liberty for sexual purposes towards the child."

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) on September 5, the bill of indictment prepared by the Akyazı Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which was conducting the investigation into the incident, was sent to the Sakarya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The four-page indictment issued by the Sakarya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and accepted by the 1st Heavy Penal Court demands that Şağban be sentenced to 15 years to 40 years, 1 month, 15 days in prison for "repeated sexual abuse of children" and 3 years to 15 years in prison for "deprivation of liberty for sexual purposes towards the child."

Eyüp Fatih Şağban will stand trial in the upcoming days.

What happened?

Odatv news website reported that Fatih Nurullah, who abused a child, was arrested. Afterwards, some tapped phone calls revealed the speech between Nurullah and the father of the abused child. In those records, Nurullah was confessing the crime, partly telling father F.A. what he did and trying to persuade him so that the incident could be covered up.

In a second voice record, F.A. shouts at Fatih Nurullah, asking him, "What did you do to my child?" Confessing the crime and partly telling what he did, he recommended F.A. that he kill his child and disguise it as suicide.

The Presidency of Religious Affairs released a statement one day after Nurullah was arrested and warned the people against "the abusers of religion who seek their own interests even though they have nothing to do with wisdom or knowledge." The statement further read, "We call on everybody to assume responsibility to protect both our religious feelings and values and our children, the apple of our eyes."

About Nurullah and Uşşaki cult

In a video that recently went viral on social media, Fatih Nurullah is seen urging his followers to "infiltrate the control mechanisms of the state."

While Nurullah is known as the leader of the Uşşaki group, a Sufi cult, the Uşşaki Foundation denied its relationship with Nurullah.

The foundation dates itself back to the 16th century and says it is following the teachings of Seyyid Hüsameddin Uşşaki.

However, after the death of the cult's sheikh, İbrahim İpek Çorumi, in 2000, Nurullah is said to have taken the control of the group, moving the cult's center from Çorum to Sakarya. Under Nurullah, the group preserved its influence and continued to have thousands of followers.

The Uşşaki cult is a branch of the Halveti cult, which is based in Kasımpaşa, İstanbul. (RT/SD)