A court in Ankara on Thursday ordered the release of four jailed defendants standing trial over allegations that high school interns were sexually abused and harassed while working at the Turkish Parliament.
Under the Turkish Penal Code, Article 103 covers sexual abuse of children and includes lower-level sexual conduct described in the English translation as “sexual importunity,” while Article 105 separately covers sexual harassment, including harassment of a child. The law treats sexual abuse of a child as more than ordinary harassment, but the term does not always mean rape.
The defendants are parliamentary cafeteria employees charged with sexual abuse of a child and sexual harassment of a child. Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of up to 16-and-a-half years for each defendant.
The ruling came despite prosecutors’ request that the defendants remain in prison while awaiting judgment.
The case stems from an investigation launched after a student intern filed a complaint with police in December, alleging that she had been sexually harassed by a cafeteria employee while participating in an internship program at the parliament.
Prosecutors allege that four girls who were under 18 at the time of the incidents were harassed by five cafeteria employees while working as interns at parliament under Turkey’s vocational education and workplace training program.
At a hearing before Ankara’s 57th Criminal Court of First Instance on Thursday, prosecutors repeated an earlier opinion calling for the defendants’ conviction and requested the continuation of detention measures for the four jailed defendants.
The court rejected the request and ordered the release of Halil İlker Güner, Durmuş Uğurlu, İbrahim Beşlioğlu and Recep Seven under judicial supervision, imposing a ban on foreign travel.
The judges cited the absence of a flight risk, the fact that most evidence had already been collected and the defendants’ fixed residences as grounds for their release.
The decision marks the second time the defendants have been released pending trial. The same court ordered their release in February, but a higher court later reinstated their detention following an objection from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Several defendants denied the allegations during Thursday’s hearing and requested acquittal. Some acknowledged contacting the interns through messages but denied any criminal wrongdoing.
One defense lawyer also questioned whether the investigation would be expanded to examine the role of senior parliamentary figures, including former ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Mahir Ünal, whose name had previously appeared in media reports about the case.
Lawyers representing the complainants called for the defendants to be punished and argued that prolonging the proceedings could further harm the children. One complainant’s parent told the court that her daughter had been subjected to repeated unwanted physical contact and called for the defendants to receive the harshest possible punishment, while another said messages exchanged with the defendants formed part of the evidence in the case. The court adjourned the trial until July 2.
The allegations sparked public concern after reports emerged late last year that female vocational high school students assigned to work in parliament’s restaurant and kitchen facilities had been targeted by staff members.
Parliament launched an internal investigation after a family filed a complaint. The inquiry resulted in disciplinary measures against five cafeteria employees, and its findings were forwarded to prosecutors, who later filed criminal charges.
In 2018 parliament confirmed that a male staff member had harassed a 16-year-old female intern in the main building and said the worker was dismissed from public service after an internal investigation.