Defendants’ acquittal shows ‘a legal practice not focused on children, protecting adults’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

The court has recently ruled that all seven defendants shall be acquitted in the retrial over the death of 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir, who was found dead 18 days after she had gone missing in eastern province of Ağrı.

Making a statement about the court ruling, the Children's Rights Center of the Diyarbakır Bar Association has said that "it is a legal practice which is not focused on the child and protects the adult who inflicted violence."

Making a statement on its social media account, the Children's Rights Center of the bar association has said:

"That the court abandoned its previous interim ruling in the Leyla Aydemir file and ruled for the acquittal of the defendants without discussing the evidence presented to the file is a result of a legal practice where the child is not the focus and the adult who inflicts violence is protected.

"That the child, who is included in the justice system in some way, isolated by the system, considered to be unreliable and mistreated over and over again, is seen to be easily sacrificable to protect the sacred institution of family especially in crimes committed within the family poses an obstacle to fair trial in such files and causes these files to end in impunity.

"A legal examination should be undertaken from a sensitive and holistic point of view which prioritizes the child and with a fair trial and the defendants should be penalized in the way they deserve."

What happened?

The final hearing of the lawsuit filed into the death of Leyla Aydemir (4) in Ağrı was held at the Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court on October 2, 2020.

Gone missing in the village of Bezirhane (Bezirgane) on June 15, 2018, Leyla Aydemir's deceased body was found 18 days later. Yusuf Aydemir, the paternal uncle of the girl, was arrested pending trial.

Handing down its judgement, the court board ruled that Yusuf Aydemir should be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment on charge of "wilful murder" without any sentence reductions or good conduct time.

The board also ruled that all other defendants who were not arrested should be acquitted of the offense charged. While the paternal uncle was given an aggravated life sentence by the local court, he was then released. The attorneys' appeal against his release was rejected.

In the retrial, the court has ruled that all seven defendants shall be acquitted in the trial over the death of 4-year-old Leyla Aydemir, who was found dead 18 days after she had gone missing in eastern province of Ağrı. (AÖ/SD)