18 years old İpek Er was forced to suicide after being raped by specialised sergeant Musa Orhan in Qûbîn (Beşiri) district of Êlih (Batman) on July 16, 2020. İpek Er, who was taken to Batman Regional Hospital with serious injuries, lost her life struggle in intensive care unit for 33 days on 18 August 2020.

 

İpek Er was arrested on 19 August 2020 and was released on 25 August 2020 upon her lawyer's objection. A lawsuit was filed against Orhan at Siirt 1st Assize Court. On 3 December 2021, Orhan was sentenced to 12 years in prison for "qualified sexual assault". However, the sentence was reduced to 10 years with a "good behaviour" discount. The verdict was approved by the 7th Criminal Chamber of Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeals on 10 March 2022. The file was taken to the Court of Cassation.

 

FIRST HEARING OF THE SECOND TRIAL

 

Afterwards, a lawsuit was filed against Musa Orhan on the charge of "causing death in case of directing someone else to commit suicide". The first hearing of the case was held yesterday at Batman 1st Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Reacting to Orhan's not being arrested, mother Hikmet Er said, "My daughter is under the ground, but he is enjoying himself. My daughter's right should not remain in the ground. Now I will leave here and go to her grave again. We continue our lives in pain. The court does not arrest him in any way. This person who poses a danger to society should be arrested immediately."

 

'WE WERE PROMISED ARREST IF WE KEPT SILENT'

 

Speaking to Mezopotamya Agency (MA), mother Hikmet Er said that they were promised by the state authorities that Musa Orhan would be arrested if they kept silent. Hikmet Er stated that the promises were not fulfilled and said, "When the state officials met with me, they said, 'We will arrest Musa Orhan, don't speak anywhere, don't make a sound, we will arrest him. However, he has not been arrested yet. They did not keep their promise. My daughter's blood remains on the ground. I want justice and law. I have been crying since the day the incident happened. I promised my daughter. Before she lost her life, she told me, 'Don't let me down'. I also promised her that we will never let her down. If we do not get anything in the trial here, we will go to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). We will never let it go.”

 

Reminding that the judiciary, which released Musa Orhan, filed a lawsuit against actors and artists, mother Hikmet Er said, "We thank everyone who showed solidarity. Let the judiciary arrest Orhan instead of punishing the artists. Let justice be served. Enough is enough, it should not sue anyone. We are waiting for justice." ,

 

MA / Fethi Balaman