Ukrainian orphan scandal in Antalya grows: Another case of abuse emerges
While allegations that the prosecutor's office closed the file on the scandal involving the abuse of Ukrainian orphan girls brought to Antalya from the war zone by labeling it as "consensual" are being debated, an official statement has shown that the incident has reached much wider dimensions. According to the statement, it was understood that in addition to the abuse of a 17-year-old girl, a second girl was also victimized.
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New details have emerged in the abuse scandal involving orphan children brought to Turkey following the Ukraine-Russia war in Antalya. Allegations that two of the 510 Ukrainian children evacuated from the war zone were subjected to sexual abuse at the hotel where they were placed had dominated the Turkish agenda.
JOINT INVESTIGATION BROUGHT THE SCANDAL TO THE FORE
Research conducted by Burcu Karakaş from Agos, along with Ukrainian journalists Anna Babinets and Yanina Kornienko from the Slidstvo.Info team, revealed that two girls were impregnated as a result of abuse at the hotel in Antalya.
According to the allegations, the prosecutor's office did not evaluate the events under the scope of "child sexual abuse," but rather as the crime of "sexual intercourse with a minor" under the Turkish Penal Code. It was claimed that because the girls were over the age of 15, the file was handled as a "consensual relationship."
ALLEGATION THAT THE FILE WAS CLOSED WITHOUT TAKING THE GIRLS' STATEMENTS
As the scandal deepened, it was alleged that the investigation was closed on the grounds that the victimized girls did not file a complaint. Subsequently, information emerged that Ukrainian instructors had the girls sign documents stating that they should "not speak ill of the boarding school staff and should accept that their relationships with Turkish men were consensual."
TWO GIRLS SENT TO UKRAINE, ONE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
According to the allegations, the two girls who were abused were sent to Ukraine in an attempt to cover up the incident. It was reported that one of these girls attempted suicide three months after giving birth.
"THE FILE HAS NOT BEEN CLOSED, THE TRIAL IS ONGOING"
Following the controversy, the prosecutor's office issued a statement denying the allegations that the file had been closed. The statement indicated that a 17-year-old girl was abused by two people and that the trial of the defendants is ongoing.
ANOTHER CASE OF ABUSE EMERGES
With the prosecutor's office's statement, it was understood that another one of the Ukrainian orphan children staying at the hotel in Antalya had also been abused. Thus, it emerged that the victimized girls at the center of the scandal were different individuals from the 17-year-old girl mentioned in the statement. According to information obtained by the research team, it was confirmed that a second file was opened and that this case involves another victim.