Acid-Attacked Woman Withdraws Complaint Against Perpetrator

İskenderun Women's Platform (Photo: Evrensel/Archive)

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Berfin Özek (19) has withdrawn her complaint against the man who carried out an acid attack on her last year, her attorneys announced today (April 9).

Casim Ozan Çelik, the perpetrator, was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison for deliberate injury in January. Özek's attorneys had said that he should have been sentenced for "attempted premeditated murder" and that they would appeal the decision.

Neither Özek nor her attorneys have stated a reason for her decision. "After Berfin stated that she retracted her complaint by her own will, we explained to her the legal and medical consequences of forgiving him," attorney Mehtap Sert said.

"Because she insisted on her decision, we declare to the public that we will not take part in any effort regarding Berfin Özek to not compromise our principles and because it is against our motto that 'We don't want the love that kills'," she added.

What happened?

On January 15, 2019, when Berfin Özek was going home from the preparatory school in İskenderun, Hatay, Casim Çelik Özcan threw acid derivative liquid on her and ran away.

Özek was taken to a hospital and received treatment for a long time. She lost one eye and has visual impairment in her other eye. Her face and chest were also partly burned.

Berfin has not fully recovered despite going through a series of surgeries.

Çelik was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison for "deliberate injury" on January 7, 2020. (EMK/VK)