‘It is very important that this case doesn’t end in impunity’

"Children have a say on their bodies" Hale Güzin Kızılaslan/csgorselarsiv.org

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A child worker in Afyon was battered for five hours because he asked for his daily wage from the employers. The first hearing of the case will be held on Friday (April 16) at 10 a.m. in Afyon province.

CLICK - Child worker who asked for daily wage battered, abused

Ahead of the first hearing, the Literary and Artistic Workshop Association (FİSA) Children's Rights Center has called on everyone to claim the case in order to stand up against violence against children, their economic exploitation and impunity for violations of children's rights.

Ezgi Koman from the FİSA has said that child labor is already a violation of children's rights and added the following:

"16-year-old Ş. was also subjected to violence. Unfortunately, too many children have to experience what Ş. went through.

"In child labor, children are employed, they are sometimes not paid their wages and sometimes subjected to violence as well.

"Another situation that we face in such incidents is that employers make up excuses for the violence against children. Here, the bosses said that Ş. committed theft. This is what always happens in cases of children's rights violations. They call the child who asked for his unpaid wage a thief. Just as they called 6-year-old Efe mischievous after a sink fell on him...

"It is very important that this case does not end in impunity. We have been following the incident since the beginning. We are on the side of both Ş.'s and his parents' demands for justice.

"This is a demand for an end to child labor, violence against children and impunity for violations of children's rights. That is why, we call on everyone, including the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policies, to follow this case and to stand on the side of 16-year-old Ş."

What happened?

The child working as an apprentice at a fish shop in Güvenevler Neighborhood in Afyon was battered by shop owner Akif A. (34) and employee Ali S. (29). He asked for help from the security guards of a nearby shopping mall and was taken to a hospital.

After he was discharged from the hospital, he went to the Children's Branch of the Provincial Security Directorate and filed a criminal complaint. The two suspects were taken into custody afterwards. Akif A. was arrested while Ali S. was released on probation.

In the indictment issued about the incident, the prosecutor's office has demanded that Akif A. and Ali S. stand trial on charge of "deprivation of liberty with force, threat or deception". Upon the complaint of suspect Akif A., the indictment has also demanded that the child be penalized on charge of "burglary at night by opening with an unjustly held key."

The child and his family also filed a criminal complaint about the incident. Elif Tuğba Şahin, the attorney of the family, said that the child had been traumatized and shared the following information:

"He is also in a very bad psychological state. There are allegations of theft against him; it is not the case, the child is the one who has money owed. They refer to allegations of theft and make such defenses to evade the charges, they are trying to make accusations of culpability against the client." (AÖ/SD)