Lawyers' group files complaint against religious authority over 'child marriage' statement
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The Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) has filed a criminal complaint against religious officials over a statement about the adoption of children who survived the earthquakes.
Filing a petition with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the lawyers pressed charges of "misuse of religious services while on duty."
The complaint concerns a fatwa, or a religious order, published on the website of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Dİyanet) on February 17.
In response to a question by a citizen, the fatwa said, while Islam recommends taking care of orphaned children, there is no institution in the religion to legally adopt children. This means, according to the agency, there is also no obstacle to a marriage between an adopter and an adoptee.
The fatwa was removed from Diyanet's website after strong reactions on social media, which was followed by statements from women's groups and bar associations.
The earthquakesOn February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş. The first quake in the Pazarcık district at 4.17 a.m. was followed by the second one in Elbistan about nine hours later. The quakes affected 11 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts, where over 5,000 people were killed. The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 45,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, according to government figures. Nearly two million people have been displaced due to the earthquakes. |
(EMK/VK)
