Turkish soldier’s alleged child rape attempt sparks public anger across Turkey

Karwan Faidhi Dri
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Turkish soldier’s alleged attempt to sexually assault a 10-year-old in Turkey’s southeastern province of Sirnak has angered many across the country. A hashtag calling on people to speak out against the incident is trending on social media.

The Turkish special sergeant alleged rape attempt took place on Tuesday around midnight in Sirnak city’s downtown. However, the girl’s scream drew nearby people to the scene who are said to have intervened and stopped the attack, reported the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency (MA) on Wednesday. 

Rizgin Birlik, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentarian told Rudaw English Wednesday evening that the man was a "drunk soldier who was not on duty."

He added that the soldier has been dismissed and legal action has been taken against him.
 
The Sirnak governor’s office released a statement earlier on Wednesday, confirming the incident but did not reveal whether the attack was a rape attempt or whether the perpetrator was a soldier, only saying that he was a public employee. 

The statement says that police were informed at 1 am on Wednesday that “a person was irritating [..] citizens and he was beaten by those people around him.” 

It added that “the person’s name is A.A. and is a public employee who was extremely drunk.”

The man was arrested and the province’s public prosecutor launched an investigation, according to the governor's office.  

Footage of the foiled attempt’s aftermath was shared on Twitter by Huseyin Kacmaz, a parliamentarian for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), and many others on Twitter. The dark and unclear footage purportedly shows a group of people holding the soldier. 


“You stay silent when a child is sleeping, not when they are abused. [Therefore] we will not be silent,” reads the caption of Kacmaz’s tweet. 

The identity of the child remains unknown but Sirnak’s bar association ascribed her the initial H, describing the incident as “sexual abuse.”

The association also said that they are closely monitoring the case, seeking witnesses, CCTV footage and other kinds of proof. 

“The fact that the doer of the action is a civil servant increases the status of victimization [of the child],” reads the association’s statement. 

A group of people in Sirnak are said to have wanted to take to the streets to protest the incident, but were not allowed by the local government on the grounds that they had to request permission 48 hours prior. 

However, some others ignored the police protocol and held a small protest to draw attention to the incident.  

Social media users launched #susmasirnak (Do not be silent Sirnak) hashtag on Twitter and other social media platforms. It was a trending hashtag in the country at the time of reporting.

Umur Yildirim, a lawyer, spoke out against the alleged incident in a tweet, saying “children may be silent, but you should not!.”

“We should be the voice which a child cannot make. The claim’s smallest details must be investigated.” 
 
HDP lawmaker, Remziye Tosun, also used the hashtag in her tweet which reads, “eyewitnesses have confirmed the abuse incident.”

Updated at 8:15 pm with Rizgin Birlik comment