No verdict yet in Hiranur Foundation case

No verdict was reached today in the trial concerning the marriage of H.K.G., the daughter of Hiranur Foundation founder Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, at the age of 6 and her subjection to sexual abuse.

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

No verdict yet in Hiranur Foundation case

A lawsuit was filed against the father, Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, and the mother, Fatıma Gümüşel, demanding up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for 'child sexual abuse in a chain manner,' and against Kadir İstekli, whom she was married to via an imam nikah (religious marriage), demanding up to 67 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison for 'child sexual abuse in a chain manner' and 'sexual assault,' regarding the marriage and sexual abuse of the 6-year-old daughter of Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, the founder of the Hiranur Foundation, which is affiliated with the İsmailağa Community.

The court, which was expected to deliver a verdict today at the 6th hearing of the case held at the Anatolian 2nd High Criminal Court—where defendants Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel and Kadir İstekli are being held in custody and Fatıma Gümüşel is being tried without arrest—postponed the decision once again. The hearing will be held on October 23.

The previous hearing of the case had been postponed after the lawyer for the detained defendant Kadir İstekli submitted a petition to withdraw from the case. In the first hearing of the trial, the court panel had issued a confidentiality order and imposed a publication ban.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

The news that the founder of the Hiranur Foundation, Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, had married off his daughter H.K.G. to Kadir İstekli when she was 6 years old was first published on December 3 in the newspaper BirGün with the byline of Timur Soykan.

The report stated that H.K.G., the daughter of Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, the founder of the Hiranur Foundation affiliated with the İsmailağa Community, had been subjected to sexual abuse starting from the age of 6 by an adult male who was a member of the community and also their neighbor; that she was engaged to this person at the age of 13 and married at 14; that she became a mother at 17; and that her official marriage was registered at the age of 18.

After H.K.G. went to court following her divorce in 2021 to file a sexual abuse lawsuit, and after both her family, who were accused of turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse, and the perpetrator of the alleged crime denied the claims, H.K.G. submitted engagement photos taken with these individuals at the ages of 6 and 13 to the court as evidence. In a follow-up report by Soykan on the subject, these photos were published.

Following the report, an investigation was launched into the incident by the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

In the indictment prepared as a result of the investigation and accepted by the Anatolian 2nd High Criminal Court, it was requested that the defendant Kadir İstekli be sentenced to no less than 30 years in prison for "qualified sexual assault" and "qualified child sexual abuse," and that the other defendants, Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel and Fatıma Gümüşel, be sentenced to no less than 18 years in prison for "aiding and abetting qualified child sexual abuse."

News Source: 12punto