Young woman records harasser at bus stop second by second: 'I'm a playboy, a playboy'

The incident occurred on April 4 at a bus stop on Hamit Kaplan Street in the Körfez district. Kübra Ak, 28, who had come to the stop to meet her female friend, encountered M.B. (56), who allegedly had also harassed her about a week before the incident. Seeing that the young woman had arrived at the stop, the suspect M.B. began harassing her with his stares, then started touching his genitals in public. Disturbed by M.B.'s behavior, the young woman began recording what was happening moment by moment with her mobile phone camera. In the footage, the man is seen touching his genitals, at times sticking out his tongue and muttering to himself, and looking at Ak while shaking his head; another citizen standing nearby is seen remaining unresponsive to what was happening.

"I'm a playboy, a playboy"

The suspect, who approached Kübra Ak, said he had been watching her and had seen her come to the stop from across the road. In the footage, M.B., who stood next to the young woman for a while longer, is heard laughing and saying, "I'm a playboy, a playboy," and he was then alleged to have said, "I'm looking for a girlfriend."

"I'll leave you and go"

In response to these words, Kübra Ak reacted by saying, "What do you mean? You are a playboy and you're looking for a girlfriend? Is that what you're trying to say?" After the suspect replied, "Don't get me wrong, I have no business with you. I have something to do right now," the young woman said, "Why are you telling me you are a playboy? I am taking this the wrong way right now. You are following me from there to here." The suspect M.B. responded, "I'll leave you and go."

After the friend she had messaged about the frightening situation called the police, the young woman, angered by the incident, hit the suspect several times. M.B., a father of 2 who was detained by police teams that arrived at the scene after the report, was arrested by the criminal judgeship of peace to which he was referred after procedures at the police station.

Release ordered at the first hearing

The defendant M.B., who had been in custody for about a month, appeared before a judge at the first hearing held two days ago. Denying the accusations against him, the defendant said in his defense: "I was waiting at the stop. I left after standing there for two minutes. She was talking to herself; I didn't understand whether she was doing a live broadcast or what she was doing. I became uncomfortable and left. It's all slander."

The defendant's lawyer, claiming that there was no element constituting a crime in the video or the words, said, "The footage is open to misunderstanding. Whether it constitutes a crime is a matter of debate. We request that he be tried without detention." The court panel ruled that the defendant be released under judicial control.

"I had a crying fit, I was confused"

Describing the trauma she experienced to İHA, 28-year-old Kübra Ak said the incident actually dated back 1.5 months. Ak said, "About 1.5 months ago, I encountered him here once. He came from across the road to where I was and was touching his genitals. At that time I stayed silent and left, and a little farther on I had a crying fit. Inevitably, I was confused. I didn't know what to do."

"He says he is looking for a girlfriend, and he is touching his genitals while looking at my face"

Stating that she saw M.B. once again in the same area about a week after that incident (on the day of the incident), Ak said:

"I crossed from the other side to the stop to wait for my friend. The man came after me, crossed over and made gestures with his eyebrows and eyes at me, stuck out his tongue, mumbled something inside his mouth, and at the same time he was touching his genitals. There was a gentleman here near us; he got him up and tried to send him away, saying, 'You need to go to the stop across the road, your bus is there.' When the bus arrived, the gentleman got up and left. Then he came here and said things like, 'The fool, I tried to send him away and he didn't go.' I am trying not to react and I continue recording video. He told me he was going to İzmit. I said, 'You followed me all the way from that stop to here; you saw that I came.' He said, 'Yes, you got off, I saw you coming.' These are already in the video recording. He says he saw me come. When the İzmit bus arrived, I said, 'The bus has come, aren't you going to go?' He said, 'No, I was going to meet my friend.' After the bus left, he said to me, 'I'm a playboy, I'm looking for a girlfriend.' Of course, I couldn't understand there; I couldn't understand what he was saying either. He says, 'I'm a playboy, that's it,' and bursts out laughing. I was stunned at that moment. He says he is looking for a girlfriend, and he is touching his genitals while looking at my face."

"Because of my age, I may understand his intention, but small children may not"

Kübra Ak drew attention to the fact that there is a school very close to the stop where the incident occurred, saying, "This is a crowded environment, a place where children leave school. Because of my age, I may understand his intention, but small children may not. Just below is a stream; if someone were harmed, if there were a struggle... Thinking about all of this, I asked my friend for support. She called the police. When he saw the police across the road, he turned his back and left after saying something to me like, 'If you don't want to, it's up to you.' At that moment I couldn't control my nerves. I don't know whether it was out of an instinct to protect myself, but I hit him a few times. When I hit him, the police told people to catch him. People caught the man and brought him over. I told the police I was filing a complaint. He stayed at the police station that night," she said.

"He was touching his genitals and looking at my face, acting as if he was enjoying himself"

Ak continued her remarks as follows:

"I went to court. He had already hired a lawyer. In his statement, he says I slandered him. He says that I assaulted him, that while I was recording him I was doing a live broadcast and muttering to myself, and that he left for this reason. He says I went and attacked him; that is his own statement, but of course there was absolutely no such thing. During that process I was recording him on video to protect myself. Something really could have happened to someone here. The case is currently ongoing. He was released. He was in custody for about a month.

 Frankly, I do not want people like this to harm especially children, women, or people. I am filing a complaint against him. The process is ongoing. I also want parents to be careful. I think a person who touches his genitals both near a school and in a crowded environment can do anything. They made a statement along the lines of 'the footage is open to misunderstanding,' but I do not think the footage is open to misunderstanding. He was casually touching his genitals and looking at my face, acting as if he was enjoying himself; it is clear in the videos as well. I was disgusted by this. I absolutely do not want another person, especially small children, to experience this. I want justice to be served."

"My face, my body are not someone else's instrument of pleasure"

Emphasizing that she had faced such an incident for the first time in her life, the young woman said, "Reading about such incidents and experiencing them are truly very different. When you hear about it, you say, 'I'm sorry this happened to you,' and try to empathize with the person who experienced this evil, but when you experience it, you don't know how to react; there is pressure from the surroundings, nobody helps... While I was experiencing this incident, there was a gentleman at the stop; even he did not get involved. Perhaps he could not get involved because of the agenda, but it is not a pleasant situation. A disgusting act is being performed while looking at a woman's face; this is not a pleasant situation. The confusion of emotions I experienced, the nerves, the anger, the trembling that came over my body... I could not even express myself. That is already why I hit the individual, but it happened because I experienced this feeling. It is a bad thing; I would not want it to happen to anyone. Fine, he may not have touched me physically, but my face, my body are not someone else's instrument of pleasure. No one can use another person's face or body as a tool for gratification," she said.

Underlining that she would not reach a settlement with the individual during the process, Ak said, "I have no financial compensation claim; I want him to be punished. I think a person who does this openly in public can do other things as well."