Trial over forced sex work: Woman’s witness statement disregarded

* Photo by Bircan Değirmenci, from the first hearing in April 2021

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

"We, at the hearing, made them hear a woman who was also given a false promise of a job by E. and faced with the same attempted attack. This woman is a political woman, she realizes what is going on. She cuts her business relations, her job interviews with Mutlu E.

"After this, he threatens this woman many times. We made them hear this woman as a witness. But the court did not see this woman's knowledge."

This is how lawyer and Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin summarizes the court board's attitutude at the second hearing of the trial of the gang which forced Sibel Y. to sex work.

Holding fake job interviews in the name of a private company in Muğla's Milas district and forcing the women who came to the interviews to do sex work, four defendants, including arrested defendant Mutlu E., had their second hearing at the Bodrum 1st Heavy Penal Court.

The hearing was attended by Sibel Y., one of the women forced to sex work, her lawyer Eren Keskin and women's rights defenders. Mutlu E. attended via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

Heard as a witness at the hearing, a woman said that in 2019, E. inflicted violence on her as well. However, the court board stated that the witness statement would not be taken into consideration.

At the previous hearing, detention warrants were issued against defendants P.Y., A.G. and A.L. They rejected the allegations at today's hearing.

Next hearing to be held on August 3

The court board has ruled that on the grounds of insufficient evidence, the three defendants shall stand trial without being arrested.

The next hearing will be held on August 3, 2021.

Speaking to bianet about the hearing, Sibel Y.'s lawyer Eren Keskin has protested the court's refusal to accept the witness statement of the woman.

'It is important to understand defendant's identity'

Keskin briefly stated the following:

"Sibel was subjected to the sexual assault of Mutlu E. Sibel collected evidence for a full year. She appealed to court, but E. was not arrested.

"However, after the forensic medical report was issued, Mutlu E. was arrested. In that report, the clear psychological and physiological marks of the sexual assault were documented.

"The second hearing of the trial was held. Women's organizations came from Bodrum and Milas. The arrested defendant once again attended the hearing via the SEGBİS system. Unfortunately, we naturally got angry due to the sexist attitude of E.'s lawyer at the hearing.

"We, at the hearing, made them hear a woman who was also given a false promise of a job by E. and faced with the same attempted attack. This woman is a political woman, she realizes what is going on. She cuts her business relations, her job interviews with Mutlu E.

"After this, Mutlu E. threatens this woman several times as well. We made them hear this woman as a witness. However, the court did not see this witness' knowledge. The court said that the witness did not have any significance for them. We indicated that the statement of this woman was important to understand the identity of the defendant.

"And the court board said, 'If we are to take the woman's statement as the basis, then, we shouldn't hold any trial at all.'

"Then, we understood once again how precious the İstanbul Convention is. After our statements, the prosecutor demanded the continuation of arrest. The court has ruled for the continuation of E.'s arrest."

What happened?

As reported by bianet on November 17, 2020, Sibel Y. announced that Mutlu E., who lives in Milas in Muğla province and whom she met for a job interview on March 3, abducted, tortured and sexually assaulted her. The man also reportedly forced Sibel Y. to do sex work.

After she escaped from Mutlu E., Sibel Y. applied to legal authorities as she wanted him to be penalized for what he had done to her. Almost like a prosecutor, she collected evidence, found voice records and looked for camera footage. She also tried to make her voice heard on social media under the hashtag "Sibel'in sessiz çığlığı" (the silent cry of Sibel).

After the issue was reported in the press, her struggle for justice has borne fruit as the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs brought it to the Parliamentary agenda and the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services provided her with protection.

According to the Forensic Medical Institution Report prepared by the Muğla Training and Research Hospital, it has been confirmed that Sibel was subjected to torture, sexual assault and battery.

The conclusion of the report has emphasized that Sibel's sexual inviolability was violated, adding that the attacks of Mutlu E. "caused Sibel Y.'s health and perception ability to be harmed to such an extent that such harm cannot be eliminated with a simple medical intervention."

Having "sexually assaulted" Sibel Y. and "forced her to sex work" in Milas, Muğla, Mutlu E. has been arrested a year after the incident. (EMK/SD)