"State, don't ptotect the rapist"

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Barış Yarkadaş, the former MP of the Republican People's Party (CHP), has met the father of the girl who was sexually abused in Turkey's southeastern province of Kilis. The male perpetrator of the incident was released from prison after only 12 days of arrest.

As previously announced by Yarkadaş, the girl was first abused two years ago, when she was 15. The father has said that he wants their voice to be heard and shared what they have been going through.

CLICK - 'A perpetrator of sexual assault released in Kilis,'

"As I am poor and the opposite party is rich, they released the person who raped my child 12 days after he entered prison," the father has said.

Condemning the injustice faced by his niece, paternal uncle has also shared the following details about the judicial process till now:

"Our niece was raped two years ago. Her statements are there. She deposed at the gendarmerie three times. She said that she was raped two years ago. She said that she continued with the relationship as she was afraid. The gendarmerie detained the suspect. The court arrested him.

"While the evidence was being collected, the assaulter stayed in prison for 12 days. He was released upon the request of the prosecutor. Even though an objection should be raised within seven days, the prosecutor processed the objection that was submitted 10 days later and demanded his release. And the court accepted it and released him.

"When we heard about the ruling of release, we went to the office of the prosecutor. 'While it is all obvious and the defendant pleaded guilty, how could you demand his release,' we asked the prosecutor. He almost kicked us out of the courthouse. He got angry and said, 'The court released him, go and talk to them.' We could not even talk about our problem.

"There is a rape, our aggrieved niece and a baby. We want justice from our state. We cannot do anything as the defendant is economically powerful. You have heard about this issue. Please don't stop following it up.

"The father of the girl, my elder brother, is a poor person. Our attorney Mr. Halil İbrahim is doing his best. But we are not strong enough. I am calling out to our state. Our niece was raped. We want justice. The defendant is missing. He has disappeared after he was released from prison. His relatives came to the girl and wanted her to withdraw her complaint..."

Commenting on what the uncle has said about the issue, Barış Yarkadaş has briefly said, "The injustice briefly summarized here has turned into the grim and routine reality of Turkey. A young girl in Kilis is aggrieved, her family is desperate and judicial institutions are dysfunctional. Unfortunately, Turkey has become a country which is pressed by impunity and where the number of victims is increasing day by day." (AÖ/SD)