Turkish judge asks sexual assault survivor why she didn't scream

A Turkish judge asked the survivor of a sexual assault why she didn't scream during the attack. Perpetrator Osman Ç., who had returned to Switzerland where he resides after his release, faces charges of sexual assault of a minor.

A hand holds up a sign that reads "sexual abuse of children is a crime, it cannot be justified."

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A judge in southeastern Mardin's Kızıltepe district asked a 17-year-old sexual assault survivor why she didn't scream during the attack, Mesopotamia Agency reported on Sept. 30. 

Perpetrator Osman Ç. was absent at the second hearing for the lawsuit where he faces charges of sexual assault of a minor, as he had returned to Switzerland where he resides after his release. 

"Why didn't you scream, why didn't you make any noise?" the judge asked the survivor, prompting protest from watchers.

The defendant's attorney claimed that the case file included no concrete proof of a crime, and asked for his client's acquittal.

"Questions like 'Why didn't you yell?' were asked the survivor in the 21st century," said Mardin Bar Association Women's Rights Center attorney Dilan Koç.

Koç noted that the survivor was questioned like a defendant, and was forced to relive her trauma.