H.K.G. case to be retried: Court of Cassation finds procedural error

The 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation has reached a significant decision regarding the case involving H.K.G., the daughter of Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, founder of the Hiranur Foundation affiliated with the İsmailağa Community, who was forcibly married at the age of 6 and subjected to sexual abuse.

The court overturned the previously issued convictions due to a procedural error.

Kadir İstekli had been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime of qualified sexual abuse of a child, while father Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel had received 20 years and her mother 16 years and 8 months in prison.

However, the appellate court found these sentences insufficient and increased İstekli's sentence to 36 years.

The Court of Cassation found the appellate court's decision to send the file back to the local court to be procedurally incorrect, ruling that the file should have been reviewed by the appellate court itself. Following this decision, the case will be re-examined at the 20th Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.

Journalist Alican Uludağ stated that this decision by the Court of Cassation emphasizes that the appellate process must be conducted correctly.