Ministry will intervene in child marriage case sparking strong reaction

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Yesterday evening (December 7) Ministry of Family and Social Services announced that they are going to intervene in the lawsuit concerning the allegations that H.K.G., the daughter of the founder of the Hiranur Foundation was married at the age of 6 and sexually abused by the man she was married to.

The ministry said in the press statement announced at 18 p.m. last night, "It was considered necessary to make the following statement regarding the news stating that H.K.G. has been sexually abused at the age of 6 published in some news outlets."

"Our ministry will follow the judicial process carefully and give the victim all kinds of legal support in the following period as we have done in the past."

First reported on Saturday

Timur Soykan from Birgün daily newspaper first reported the case on Saturday (December 3) which involves child marriage and sexual abuse.

In Soykan's article, it was reported that Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, who is the founder of the Hiranur Foundation linked to the İsmailağa sect let his daughter H.K.G. be systematically subjected to sexual abuse by an adult man who is a member of the sect and also their neighbor, engaged his daughter with this person at the age of 13 and married her to him at the age of 14, that she gave birth at the age of 17. Her official marriage was made when she was 18.

Accordingly, H.K.G. went to court after her divorce in 2021 and opened a sexual abuse case. When her family, accused of permitting the sexual abuse, and the offender denied the allegations, H.K.G. submitted to the court her photographs with these persons at the age of 6 and 13 as evidence.

Soykan wrote a follow-up report yesterday (December 7) where these photographs were also published.

"Project to affront people with Islamic values"

An announcement was posted on social media, signed Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel which said, "The article published on December 3, 2022, in BirGün newspaper and internet news portal by 'Timur Soykan' is the product of a project prepared in order to affront the people who have Islamic values and belief while targeting myself and our family by publishing the allegations in a case in which the trials have not started.

"Our daughter making these allegations was married at the age regarded as full age by the civil code, in compliance with Islamic and legal rules and there has not been any pressure on her either from our family or anyone else."

Reactions from political parties

Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik also tweeted at the same hours as the announcement from the Ministry and said that they damned the abuse of children and that they would be by the victim and give all kinds of support. "We are by the victim, whoever the victim is and we are against the guilty, whoever the guilty is," he wrote.

There were strong reactions from many people including the opposition parties on the issue yesterday throughout the day.

While People's Democratic Party spokesperson Meral Danış Bektaş brought the issue up in the parliament and asked why the defendants were standing trial without arrest, Türkiye Worker's Party (TİP) members organized a protest in front of the Hiranur Foundation building in Sancaktepe, İstanbul.

Bektaş said that an immediate investigation should be started about "the person who ruled for a "decision of non-prosecution" in this "very severe case."

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener said they would not let this "meanness" be whitewashed while Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kılıçdaroğlu said "Who does this, who permits it, and who establishes the system for it, are all dishonorable.

Ali Babacan, leader of The Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party tweeted and said, "Abuse to a child of 6 is lowness, it is cruelty. The name for this is clearly rape. We are behind H.K.G. who is seeking justice with all our strength." (EMK/PE)