Monday (January 30) saw the highly-anticipated first hearing in a sexual abuse case that has received major attention in Turkey over the past two months. Lawsuits had been filed against Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, the founder of Hiranur Foundation, on allegations that Gümüşel arranged a marriage between his 6-year-old daughter and Kadir Istekli, a 29-year-old member of the İsmailağa Jamia. The Hiranur Foundation is associated with the İsmailağa Jamia, a highly conservative Muslim community organization headquartered in Istanbul’s Fatih district. Gümüşel’s daughter, a minor referred to in legal documents as ‘H.K.G.’, was alleged to have been married by her father after which she was subjected to sexual abuse by Istekli. The case has become a lightning-rod issue in Turkey in recent weeks with many accusing Turkey’s center-right Islamist government of protecting and covering up child abuse. The detention of Gümüşel and Istekli will continue, with the next hearing scheduled for February 27.
Istekli and Gümüşel were originally detained on December 14 and 15, respectively, after an examination by a high criminal court in Istanbul evaluated the crime’s seriousness, the risk of the defendants fleeing, and the existing evidence in the case. The two defendants are being held separately.
The first hearing, held at Istanbul’s 2nd high criminal court on the city’s Asian side, was attended by Gümüşel, who was brought from prison. Istekli, meanwhile, joined remotely via a video and audio connection.
A third defendant, Fatima Gümüşel, who has not been physically detained, did not join the hearing after issuing a notice saying she could not attend.
Before the hearing, three Turkish women’s rights organizations announced in a joint press release that they stood by the underage victim and would be following the case. The three organizations that released the statement were Bodrum Women’s Solidarity Association, Women Are Strong Together, and Left Feminist Movement.
Members of Parliament from the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Züleyha Gülüm, Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Oya Ersoy, and Hüda Kaya followed the hearing. Sera Kadıgil, a parliament member from the Workers’ Party of Turkey, was also in attendance.
Before the hearing, a group of members from the İsmailağa Jamia organization chanted “Yusuf Hodja is not alone” near the courthouse and prayed collectively for Gümüşel. Other supporters of Gümüşel chanted a slogan saying “Do not yield to the horny minority!”
https://twitter.com/medyascope/status/1619954141597409281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1619960543091236865%7Ctwgr%5E9de71dad346e538818746b497a3a2dcbfacafcb4%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedyascope.tv%2F2023%2F01%2F30%2F6-yasindaki-cocuga-cinsel-istismar-davasinin-ilk-durusmasi-kadir-istekli-ve-yusuf-ziya-gumusel-ilk-kez-hakim-karsisinda%2FCase moved to larger hall
Members of Women’s and children’s rights organizations as well as members of the press who wanted to attend the hearing were not admitted to the courthouse on an order of the Attorney General.
The hearing had been scheduled to begin at 10:30 but was delayed after lawyers requested the case be moved to a larger hall.
Among the many law and rights organizations who have requested involvement in the case are:
Women’s Rights Association Federation of Women’s Associations of Turkey, Bodrum Women’s Solidarity Association, Child Rights Defenders Network Lawyers Association for Democracy, Mor Roof Women’s Shelter Foundation, UCİM Saadet Teachers’ Association for Combating Child Abuse, We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association, Women’s Defense Network Purple Space Association, First Children and Women’s Association, Labor Party, Workers’ Party of Turkey, Left Party People’s Liberation Party Women’s Child Commission AKP Istanbul Provincial Presidency Turkish Lawyers’ Women’s Association.
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Hearing will be closed to the public
Defendant Fatima Gümüşel’s deputy, Fatih Atalay, released a statement saying “The presumption of innocence of the defendants is violated. I personally saw those who wanted to vent their hatred towards Islam and Muslims in this hall.”
The court rejected the request of associations and non-governmental organizations to participate and decided that the hearing should be closed. Lawyers reacted to the decision with applause.
Next hearing February 27
The hearing, which started again at 16:30, continued closed to the public. The next hearing in the case will take place on February 27, until which Istekli and Gümüşel will remain in custody.
What happened?
The case first came to light following a report published in Birgün newspaper on December 7, 2022, by journalist Timur Soykan. According to the information in the indictment, Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, the founder of the Hiranur Foundation affiliated with the İsmailağa Community, had his daughter (initials ‘H.K.G.’) “married by an imam” to organization member Kadir Isteli when she was only six years old. Explaining that she was exposed to sexual abuse for years in her statement in the indictment, H.K.G. had started her legal struggle in December 2020. She was taken under protection by the Ministry of Family and Social Services in 2020.
Just days before the first hearing, the decision was made to hold the hearing behind closed doors and be closed to public broadcast after Turkey’s Forensic Medicine Institute determined that the victim’s mental health had seriously deteriorated as a result of the incident and ongoing case. Additionally, further changes were made to protect the identity privacy of those involved in the case.
Edited for Medyascope English by Leo Kendrick.
