The 6th Penal Court of Peace on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Ercan Kızılateş, who attacked a woman for wearing shorts in public, upon the objection of an Istanbul prosecutor to his previous release pending trial.
Kızılateş, who attacked Melisa Sağlam on a minibus in İstanbul’s Pendik neighborhood last week because she was wearing shorts during Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims, was detained after Sağlam, a university student, filed a complaint. He was released pending trial by the 5th Penal Court of Peace.
The perpetrator was arrested on charges of obstructing freedom of faith, thought and opinion, provoking people to hatred and enmity and insult, insult and deliberate harm.
Sağlam had earlier reacted to the release of Kızılateş in a social media message, saying: “He is still talking, shameless man! I haven’t said anything negative about justice until today, I thought they [judges] had a conscience. Shame on this justice!”
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 became public on Wednesday, Kızılateş is seen attacking 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, who was previously sentenced to three years, nine months in prison over a violation of the tax law.