12Punto reports, the Minister of Justice is asked: Why is Erdoğan Esmer, who abused his daughter for years, free?
Erdoğan Esmer, who abused his daughter for 18 years, was caught red-handed by the gendarmerie, but was acquitted by the Court of Appeal under the initiated case file on the grounds that "the crime was not proven." In the second case file opened, Erdoğan Esmer, who was tried for "child sexual abuse," was acquitted for the second time in a single hearing. Following 12Punto's report, which brought the voice of Nilay Esmer—who was subjected to years of abuse by her father—to the public, IYI Party MP Ömer Karakaş brought the incident to Parliament. Karakaş submitted a parliamentary question requesting a response from Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek.
12punto
SİNEM NAZLI DEMİR
Nilay Esmer was subjected to sexual abuse by her father, Erdoğan Esmer, from the age of 7 until she was 25. After the gendarmerie caught the father red-handed in 2022, a lawsuit was filed against him for the crime of sexual abuse against a child.
Subsequently, in the case opened against Erdoğan Esmer, the Diyarbakır 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced him to 7 years in prison on September 15, 2022, for the crime of "simple sexual assault." Because the crime was committed against his own daughter, the sentence was increased to 10 years and 6 months.
FATHER CAUGHT RED-HANDED ACQUITTED
The court also increased the sentence further, taking into account that the act was committed against the same person multiple times at different times, and sentenced the defendant to a total of 13 years, 1 month, and 15 days in prison. However, the 7th Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice issued an acquittal and release decision on November 23, 2022, on the grounds that "it could not be definitively proven that the charged crime was committed by the defendant," despite him having been caught red-handed and arrested by the gendarmerie. In the second case opened with the charge of "child sexual abuse," the Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court also issued an acquittal decision for Erdoğan Esmer on January 14, 2025, in the first hearing, without even hearing the testimony of Nilay Esmer's mother.
Reporter's note: This report contains elements that may be triggering for some of our readers.
"THE GENDARMERIE CAUGHT HIM RED-HANDED INSIDE THE CAR"
Nilay Esmer, who was subjected to abuse for 18 years, told 12Punto about what she went through:
"I was sexually abused by my own father from the age of 7 until I was 25. I couldn't tell anyone because of the fear he instilled. I wanted to tell my mother so much, but I couldn't. He also used violence against me, so I kept it inside. This abuse continued until February 2022, when the gendarmerie caught him red-handed inside the car. Before the first hearing date, a lawyer was hired for him, but not for me. The lawyer they hired took me to the prosecutor and forced me to say, 'I am withdrawing my complaint.' They wanted me to say, 'I consented to it.'"
"AN ACQUITTAL WAS GRANTED DIRECTLY AT THE FIRST HEARING"
"In the first case opened, the court panel sentenced him to 13 years. However, this sentence was overturned by the Court of Appeal and an acquittal was granted. Then a new court process began, as the first one had already closed because the Court of Cassation had rejected our appeal. In the second case file opened, the presiding judge granted an acquittal directly at the first hearing. The Court of Appeal also granted an acquittal. Our file is currently at the Court of Cassation. I hope the result will be in my favor this time. They don't see me. No one reached out to me. I wrote and sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice. I want to be seen now."
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION REGARDING THE FILE SUBMITTED TO MINISTER OF JUSTICE AKIN GÜRLEK
Today, there was a new development regarding the file. IYI Party MP Ömer Karakaş submitted a parliamentary question regarding the second file, which has been moved to the Court of Cassation, requesting a response from the Minister of Justice.
In the motion, the following questions were asked to Gürlek:
1. What are the concrete legal grounds for the acquittal decision given in the Nilay Esmer case?
2. Does the concept of "consent" have any legal validity in cases of sexual abuse against children under the Turkish Penal Code?
3. What is the number of acquittal decisions granted on the grounds of "consent" in cases of sexual abuse against children within the last 10 years?
4. Is there a mandatory training program for judicial personnel working on child abuse cases regarding children's rights and international conventions? If so, how many judicial personnel have benefited from these trainings in the last 5 years?
5. Is the opening of the concept of "consent" to debate in serious crimes such as child abuse considered an acceptable approach by your Ministry?
6. Are the psychosocial support, legal aid, and monitoring mechanisms for the protection of victimized children in such cases sufficient? Is a new regulation planned in this area?