An İstanbul court on Thursday ruled that Ercan Kızılateş, who attacked a woman named Melisa Sağlam on a minibus in İstanbul’s Pendik neighborhood last week because Sağlam was wearing shorts, would be tried while remaining free and not in pretrial detention.
The decision came shortly after Kızılateş was referred to court for arrest by prosecutors earlier on Thursday.
The incident took place on June 14. Sağlam, a university student, filed a complaint against Kızılateş, which led to his detention. However, the man was released after testifying to a prosecutor.
In his statement to the prosecutor, Kızılateş said he was sexually aroused due to Sağlam’s clothing and that is why he attacked the woman.
In video footage that was released on Wednesday, Kızılateş attacks the young woman, who is seated.
The public outrage sparked by the release of the footage led to the issuance of a new detention warrant for Kızılateş.
Attacks on women due to their attire are not uncommon in Turkey. Last September, a young nurse in İstanbul was also attacked by a man on a bus for wearing shorts. The incident was widely covered in the Turkish media.
In February, another young woman was attacked by a woman for wearing a headscarf on a minibus in İstanbul’s Maltepe neighborhood.