An appeals court court in Iğdır, eastern Turkey, issued its verdict yesterday for six defendants accused of abusing a 14 year old child, applying minimum penalties and further reductions for various reasons.
The court also reduced short term prison sentences for violating housing immunity and deferred the announcement of those verdicts.
The case at Iğdır 2nd Heavy Penal Court began following a criminal complaint filed by B.A. in 2023. B.A. testified during the investigation and trial that systemic abuse occurred over five months through threats and blackmail after the defendant B.Y. shared images of the child with others.
B.A. stated that the defendants exerted pressure by threatening to send these images to the child's family. During a period when the family was away due to a sibling's illness, six individuals allegedly entered the home through coercion to continue the abuse.
Following these statements, B.Y., M.A., O.B., A.B., F.A., and V.G. were arrested. The prosecutor’s office prepared an indictment charging the suspects with "qualified sexual abuse of a child" and "violation of housing immunity."
The trial began after the indictment was accepted. Although the defendants were released during a hearing on Feb 21, 2024, they were re-arrested following appeals. The court initially convicted all defendants of qualified sexual abuse, but the case was moved to the regional court of appeals.
The higher court overturned the initial ruling due to deficiencies regarding the housing immunity charge. In the retrial, the court issued sentences for this crime but applied reductions for short term prison stays and deferred the announcement of the verdicts.
Reductions
The court initially sentenced B.Y. to 16 years for qualified sexual abuse, increasing it to 20 years for successive crimes. However, the sentence was reduced to 10 years after considering legal limits and the impact of the sentence on the defendant's future.
Sentences for defendants M.A. and O.B. were lowered to 16 years and eight months following increases and subsequent reductions. A.B. and F.A. saw their 16 year sentences reduced to 13 years and four months.
V.G. received a 10 year sentence, reduced from an initial 12 years because the act remained at the attempt stage. Most sentences related to housing immunity were also reduced, with the court either deferring the announcement of the verdicts or suspending the sentences.
The court rejected all requests for release and ordered the continued detention of the defendants.
