M.B., a 21 years old woman, living in Mardin province of Turkey, was raped twice by a special operations police on May 9, 2017. M.B. filed a criminal case against the officer B.K. the following day, and the prosecution recommended a 12-year jail term for the officer. On the day of the hearing, February 8, 2018, M.B. attempted suicide.
In an interview published in local media, M.B. said that she got acquainted with 24 years old special force officer B.K. through social media, that they dated on May 9, 2017, at a cafe, taking alcohol, and that she had been raped twice by him later that day.
THREAT FROM OTHER POLICE OFFICERS
In the court hearing, the victim M.B. said "He raped me twice, hit my elbow with his gun. I totally lost my strength. When I finally left his apartment, he approached me and said nothing would happen to him since he is a police officer. His colleagues also threatened me never to tell the truth."
She noted that although they tried to convince her not to press charges against B.K., she filed a criminal complaint against him. These police officers presented themselves as the brothers of B.K. Later; the victim M.B. identified these police officers as V.Y. and H.Y.
The prosecution also asked for the interrogation of police officers V.Y. and H.Y. for the crimes of "tampering with criminal evidence".
JUDICIAL MEDICAL REPORT PROVES RAPE
The judicial medical report proved that she had been raped, and the officer B.K. was transferred to the court of criminal jurisdiction with the recommendation of arrest. However, B.K. was released on the grounds that M.B. might had lost her virginity before and the probability that the intercourse was voluntary. The prosecution objected to it, and yet the court of criminal jurisdiction overruled the objection since "there is no strong crime suspicion".
In the first court hearing, the officer B.K. argued that the intercourse was voluntary, which caused a nervous breakdown of the victim M.B.
The Ministry of Family and Social Policies became an intervener in the case and pleaded that the act of rape was proven through the judicial medical report. The court overruled the demand of arrest and the court was abated.
"THE OFFICER SAYS HE IS PROTECTED BY INFLUENTIAL NAMES"
M.B. has been undergoing psychological treatment due to the trauma of the assault. In the interview she had given to the local media, M.B. said she left Mardin and her job due to the psychological pressure she felt and that her family knew nothing about the incident.
"The assaulter officer is at large, keeping track of my slightest step. My life is in danger. That's why I moved to another city. My family cannot endure such a thing. I am so embarrassed. Please, someone, help me. I only want that he receives a punishment. A couple of friends of the assaulter offered a huge amount of money so that I would keep silent. He says he is protected by influential names. I am scared. They destroyed all my dreams. I left the school and my job. I keep remembering the terrible incident. I keep going with medication. If my parents learn about that, they would do bad things."
Local media also reported that the victim M.B. attempted suicide before due to the psychological trauma she has been undergoing.
A majority of police officers in Turkey are conservative and pro-government. They are being protected by the ruling AKP party despite their crimes. The increasing number of violence against women also parallels with the misogynist perspective of the AKP government, and the assaulters are generally released.
