Former sergeant not jailed despite receiving 10-year jail term for raping Kurdish woman

Duvar English

A Turkish court has sentenced former specialized sergeant Musa Orhan to 10 years in prison for raping an 18-year-old Kurdish woman in the southeastern province of Batman and for causing her death.

The final hearing of the case took place at the Siirt 1st Heavy Penal Court on Dec. 3. The court however rejected the demand for Orhan's arrest. 

Orhan participated in the hearing via video-conferencing system SEGBİS from the Ankara 35th Heavy Penal Court.

Orhan was initially jailed on Aug. 19, 2020 following public outrage over 18-year-old Kurdish woman İpek Er's death. In a suicide note she left on July 16, 2020, Er wrote that she had been kidnapped and raped by Orhan for 20 days. She later lost her life in the hospital in August after she shot herself. 

Despite the grave accusations, Orhan was released in less than a week on Aug. 25, 2020, and since then has been standing trial without arrest.

Orhan's release had prompted a public outcry in August 2020, with several people pointing to the hypocrisy of the judicial-making processes.

During the trial process, the Interior Ministry announced that Orhan was officially dismissed from his post in the military.

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