Nation-wide anger as suspect is nabbed for allegedly abusing a five-year-old child in Istanbul
According to the Turkish Ministry of Justice, the number of child sexual abuse cases Turkish courts have settled in the last 10 years has quadrupled.
A man has been bust by Turkish police on suspicion of sexually abusing a child in Istanbul. On Thursday, Suleyman Soylu, the Turkish Interior Minister, announced that the police had captured the suspect, who is of Pakistani-origin.
According to the pro-government Dogan (DHA) news agency, the suspect was reportedly identified by the victim and her family, under the supervision of a Pedagogue.
Soylu said their stance and struggle against such cases would continue.
The five-year-old victim had been found raped outside her home in the Kucukcekmece district of Istanbul on Monday. On suspicion of being subjected to sexual abuse, the child was taken to the hospital by her family.
Since the incident has been heard, there have been many demonstrations staged all around the country, denouncing the incident and calling on the authorities to find the perpetrators.
In recent years, many have been criticizing the handling of child sex abuse cases by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
One of the critics, Aydin Ozer, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said it was wrong to approach such cases with an attitude of ‘things like this occur in every part of the world, this is not only our problem,”, which resulted in turning a blind eye to them.
Ankara has come under the severe criticism from all parties over its poor handling and reaction to a case of an Islamist education foundation, Ensar, in which 45 child abuse cases were reported.
CHP’s Ozer also emphasized the wrong practice of “not to speak about” in such cases. The AKP administration had imposed a broadcast ban in a bid to prevent the reporting of the Ensar case, also casting doubts on AKP’s protection for the foundation, which is known for its close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to the Turkish Ministry of Justice, the number of child sexual abuse cases Turkish courts have settled in the last 10 years has quadrupled.
Source: ipa
