Ördek’s attorney stated: “What was important for us is to have them be punished for sexual assault” and continued:
Ördek’s attorney stated: “What was important for us is to have them be punished for sexual assault” and continued:
“It played in our favour of having them sentenced for attempted robbery, which resulted in a more severe sanction than the previous/first instance judgement of the court on the basis of threat and intentional injury.”
“However, the court have not found solid evidence of sexual assault. Sexual assault can only be proven by a contract or a witness, else the victim’s sincere and consistent testimony must be taken as a basis.”
Local Court Sentenced for Qualified Sexual Assault
One of the defendants was found guilty and imprisoned for committing qualified sexual assault besides robbery, threat, insult and threatening of one’s liberty.
Subsequently, the case was brought to the divisional court and the prosecutor Türkay Türkler asserted that there is no evidence that proves “above any suspicion, whole, positive and credible” that the crime was a sexual assault and demanded acquittal from this charge. The other two perpetrators were also imprisoned for the charge of robbery.
Ördek, in her interview with Bianet, stated that “I did not scream that I do not want to die and kept on the right side of them. At the same time the defendants are giving contradictory statements and they are not convincing. The acquittance of sexual assault is demanded on the basis of “lack of competent and convincing evidence”. I have been trying to prove that I was raped for the last 2 years and 7 trials.”
What Happened?
LGBTI activist Kemak Ördek was attacked in her apartment in Ankara on July 5th 2015, a Sunday night. The perpetrators were released after they said “We are real man, officer, you can understand us” to the police officer at charge who screamed “enough with these sodomites”, while another police officer shouted “these have revolted against the government at Gezi” and the officer who was taking Kemal’s testimony said “but you were not raped, how could you say that”.
The trial was started for all three perpetrators at the Ankara 1st High Criminal Court in October 27, 2015 on the bases of qualified sexual assault, intentional injury, robbery, insult and subjection to threat and violence.
Kemal Ördek’s lawyers filed a criminal complaint against the police officers at the police station where Ördek was taken on the day when she got attacked, but a verdict of non-prosecution was ordered for the officers.
After the attack, the three perpetrators did “the crime of breaking peace and calm” due to their constant harassment by calling Ördek for 36 hours. Even though, one of the perpetrator was sentenced to 5 months imprisonment, instead the sentence was “reduced” to a punitive fine of 3000 TL.
In November 2016, The 1st High Criminal Court sentenced two defendants to 5 years imprisonment and imposed punitive fines for subjection to threat and violence. The third perpetrator was -in addition to these crimes – sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for a qualified sexual assault.
Subsequently, the case was brought to divisional court.
“Most probably the charges could have been accepted if the person was not an LGBTI person or a sex worker. However, it also depends of the attitude and the approach of the judges. I am not satisfied with the court decision as the main argument of this case on our side was the sexual assault and now they ignored it. In the second phase of this regional court, it was the final hearing. Now, we are taking the case to the attention of the Supreme Court. We don’t know when it will be decided at the Supreme Court. It may take years.”- adds Kemalita.