Joint Statement by 46 Bar Associations: Child Abuse Cannot be Granted Amnesty
"Withdraw the law acquitting sexual abuse"
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46 bar associations from around Turkey have released a joint statement regarding the recent debates on a possible amnesty for child abuse.
Underlining that "child abuse cannot be granted amnesty," the associations have made a call to take these debates off the country's agenda.
The associations have briefly stated the following:
'It is against the Constitution'
"A non-verified document was put into circulation on social media, claiming that the bill which foresees impunity in the event of marriage between the child and the abuser and has been brought up for many times since 2016 would again be brought into Parliamentary agenda.
"However, in spite of this, the circulation of this document on social media has greatly troubled the public conscience.
"It has shown how sensitively this issue is followed by the society and how important it is considered by them.
"In the face of this public outrage, we have to once again reiterate our sensitivity and warnings about this issue.
"While the article foreseeing deferment of the sentence in the event of marriage between the child and the abuser was omitted from the law in 2005, any legal arrangement that would mean a return to this past mistake will turn all institutions responsible for protecting children into a part of the process when the victim is married to the child abuser.
"Adopting such a legal regulation will be openly contrary to the international conventions that our country is a party to as well as the Articles 90 and 14 of the Constitution and the Law on Protection of the Child.
"We, hereby, reiterate that a regulation that will be contrary to the universal principles of the law and the best interests of the child should not be brought into the country's agenda ever again and it should not even be proposed and we, the bar associations, once again, say as legists and humans that child abuse cannot be granted amnesty."
The undersigned bar association chairs:1.Adana Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Veli KÜÇÜK 2.Adıyaman Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Mustafa KÖROĞLU 3.Amasya Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ahmet Melik DERİNDERE 4.Ankara Bar Association Chair - Lawyer R.Erinç SAĞKAN 5.Antalya Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Polat BALKAN 6.Artvin Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ali Uğur ÇAĞAL 7.Aydın Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Gökhan BOZKURT 8.Balıkesir Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Erol KAYABAY 9.Batman Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Abdülhamit ÇAKAN 10.Bilecik Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Halime AYNUR 11.Bitlis Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Fuat ÖZGÜL 12.Bolu Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Sabri ERHENDEKÇİ 13.Burdur Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ramazan GEDİK 14.Bursa Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Gürkan ALTUN 15.Çanakkale Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Bülent ŞARLAN 16.Denizli Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Müjdat İLHAN 17.Düzce Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Azade AY 18.Edirne Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Alper PINAR 19.Erzincan Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Adem AKTÜRK 20.Eskişehir Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Mustafa ELAGÖZ 21.Gaziantep Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Bektaş ŞARKLI 22.Giresun Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Soner KARADEMİR 23.Hakkari Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ergün CANAN 24.Hatay Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ekrem DÖNMEZ 25.Isparta Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ünsal ÇANKAYA 26.İstanbul Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Mehmet DURAKOĞLU 27.İzmir Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Özkan YÜCEL 28.Kırıkkale Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Talat APAYDIN 29.Kırklareli Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Turgay HINIZ 30.Kocaeli Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Bahar GÜLTEKİN CANDEMİR 31.Kütahya Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ahmet ATAM 32.Malatya Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Enver HAN 33.Manisa Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Ali ARSLAN 34.Mersin Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Bilgin YEŞİLBOĞAZ 35.Muğla Barosu Başkan - Lawyer Cumhur UZUN 36.Muş Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Feridun TAŞ 37.Niğde Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Osman ÇİMEN 38.Ordu Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Haluk Murat POYRAZ 39.Siirt Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Nizam DİLEK 40.Şırnak Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Nuşirevan ELÇİ 41.Tekirdağ Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Sedat TEKNECİ 42.Trabzon Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Sibel SUİÇMEZ 43.Tunceli Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Kenan ÇETİN 44.Uşak Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Emin COŞKUN 45.Van Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Zülküf UÇAR 46.Yalova Bar Association Chair - Lawyer Fedayi DOĞRUYOL |
(EMK/SD)