Peer bullying in İzmir... 12-year-old child beaten by a group of 10

B.T. (12), an 8th-grade student studying in the Karşıyaka district of İzmir, was attacked by a group on the street after school. The moment of the incident was allegedly recorded by a student on a mobile phone camera. The footage shows a group of girls surrounding and beating B.T.

STATEMENTS OF THE VICTIM

Describing what happened, B.T. said that after school, a girl named "E." first put her arm around her shoulder, and then they surrounded her by pointing to her cousins. B.T. said, "After talking for a while, they attacked. It happened because I am new to the school and they were jealous of me because of a friend in the class. My neck hurts, and I am now afraid to go out on the street."

Following the incident, her mother, Fatma Sivrikaya, filed a criminal complaint. In her account of the day of the incident, Sivrikaya stated that they enrolled her daughter in the school on the 8th, and the incident took place on the 11th. She said that her daughter called her while she was at work, that she did not grasp the seriousness at first, and that she reported the situation to the police and the school administration after seeing the video.

Sivrikaya stated that a group of approximately 10 people attacked her daughter in the video and that many people turned on her child alone, adding that she is also filing a complaint against those whose names she does not know if they are in the footage. Stating, "No one's child is left unprotected," the mother expressed that she has filed a complaint.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FILED

Sivrikaya reported that she obtained a medical report for the assault and filed a criminal complaint; they are in contact with the school and the disciplinary investigation is ongoing. She also mentioned some witnesses and students she contacted to use the footage as evidence.

Emphasizing her anxiety over what happened, Sivrikaya also referred to the health/familial losses she has experienced recently. She quoted herself saying, "We recently lost Ahmet Minguzzi. What if my child had died there too?" Stating that she had previously lost a baby, the mother expressed that the distance her child travels to and from school is 200 meters, and that her child's safety and security could not be protected over this short distance.

The mobile phone footage, which is claimed to be of the moment of the incident, was presented as evidence on social media and to the relevant authorities. The footage shows the moments when B.T. was surrounded and beaten by a group. It was noted that eyewitnesses and the student who recorded the footage were contacted and the relevant statements were taken.

It was reported that contact was established with Emine Lahur Secondary School and the relevant district national education authorities; a disciplinary investigation has been launched regarding the incident. It was stated that an application was made to the prosecutor's office as part of the judicial process and a medical report for the assault was obtained.

News Source: İHA