Young woman raped by 5 men in TRNC is being threatened: 'Change your statement or we'll shoot you in the head'

21-year-old İrem G., who was gang-raped by 5 men in the TRNC in April, stated that she has been receiving threats from the relatives of the suspects currently in custody and issued a plea on social media saying, "Please, help me, I don't want to die."

According to the prosecution's indictment at the Nicosia Assize Court, the rape occurred on April 13 in Kyrenia. İrem G., who is a university student in the TRNC, had come to Kyrenia to have fun with 4 of her female friends.

THEY MET AT AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE

At the entertainment venue, they met Yusuf Atan, İbrahim Arzakçı, Şehmus Kaya, Zülküf Kaya, and Baver Yaşar, who had come for a vacation—2 from Istanbul and 3 from Diyarbakır.

THEY RAPED HER AND RECORDED IT ON VIDEO

Later in the night, İrem went with a friend to the apartment where the 5 men were staying. During this time, the friend she arrived with left the house. The 5 men raped the young woman in turns and recorded those moments on their mobile phones.

Towards morning, İrem sent a message to 2 of her friends saying, "I'm in a very bad state, come get me," and asked for help. The men who raped her were the ones who dropped İrem off at her friends' house. After meeting up with her friends, İrem went to the Kyrenia Police Department to file a complaint, and the 5 men were detained at the apartment where they were staying.

"CHANGE YOUR STATEMENT, OR WE'LL SHOOT YOU IN THE HEAD"

According to a report by Hürriyet newspaper, İrem described what she went through as follows:

"Before a hearing in June, I started receiving threats from strange phone numbers belonging to other countries like Ukraine. Two months had passed since the incident, and my family didn't know. Those who called me threatened me, saying, ‘We’ll shoot you in the head, change your statement, say it was consensual.’ They even told me my family’s private information, including their national ID numbers.

We had a hearing on December 19. On December 18, the day we set off for Kyrenia to attend the hearing, two masked individuals set fire to the car in front of my house, which was registered to my mother but driven by my brother, by pouring gasoline on it. Those who threaten me and my family say they are very powerful in Turkey and that they are a tribe. They are threatening to kill us. We are asking for help."

The suspects' lawyers, however, stated that no threats were made against İrem and her family, and claimed that they had filed a criminal complaint with the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office through their lawyers in Turkey, alleging that they were being slandered.

News Source: 12punto