Sexual assault by specialist sergeant: Interior Minister says he trusts the judiciary

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Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu has said that he believes the judiciary will fulfill its duty regarding the case of an 18-year-old woman's rape by a specialist sergeant in the southeastern Batman province.

İ.E. attempted suicide after she was raped by Musa O. and lost her life on Tuesday (August 18) in the hospital where she had been treated for a month.

The military officer, who was released from detention during the investigation into the incident, was remanded in custody yesterday (August 19) after outrage on social media following İ.E.'s death.

"When a security officer is involved in such an incident, we first suspend them from office and then dismiss them," Soylu told the pro-government daily Hürriyet's editor-in-chief, Ahmet Hakan Coşkun.

Musa O. was suspended from duty a month ago and the dismissal process was "immediately launched," he noted.

"The funeral is our funeral. It is our funeral for two reasons: First, we have a responsibility because of our duty. Second, this family is a police family. Our young girl's elder brother is a colleague of ours, he is a police officer. We also have responsibilities in this respect," the minister said, adding that "I have full faith and confidence that the judiciary will do its part."

Also, he asserted that "some circles" constantly discuss the issue to cover up what a Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members did.

Two HDP MPs recently faced allegations of violence against women. MP Tuma Çelik resigned from the party after he was accused of raping a woman and MP Mensur Işık was suspended from the party for two years for being violent with his spouse.

(EMK/VK)