The İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday objected to a ruling by an İstanbul court to release a man who was arrested after attacking a young nurse on a bus in İstanbul’s Maslak neighborhood in September due to the woman’s clothing.
The first hearing in the trial of the attacker, Abdullah Çakıroğlu, was held at the İstanbul Anadolu 40th Penal Court of First Instance on Wednesday. The court decided to release Çakıroğlu pending trial in a development that attracted widespread criticism.
The İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office submitted a petition to the Anadolu 40th Penal Court of First Instance, demanding Çakıroğlu’s arrest in consideration of the nature of the charges leveled and because not all evidence related to the incident has been collected.
In his defense on Wednesday, Çakıroğlu said he kicked the woman because her attire was not appropriate for a public space. He also said he suffers from mental problems.
When victim Ayşegül Terzi’s lawyer slammed the court over its ruling for the release of the attacker, asking what would happen if Çakıroğlu were to attack her client again, the judge said if something like that happens again, they should report it to the authorities.
Twenty-three-year-old nurse Terzi told Turkish newspapers and TV stations that on Sept. 12, the first day of Eid al-Adha, on the way home from her shift at a hospital in İstanbul, an unidentified man on the bus kicked her. She said that because of her earphones she did not hear what the man said before he suddenly kicked her in the face, but a passenger next to her said the attacker shouted “These woman are evil and spread bad fortune” and uttered disparaging remarks.
Çakıroğlu was briefly detained last month but later arrested due to public outrage caused by his release.