Turkish child marriage plans 'will not pardon rapists'

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA (AA) - Proposed legal changes that will pardon men jailed for marrying underage girls will not apply to those convicted of rape, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday.

Speaking to reporters following a Cabinet meeting in Ankara, Kurtulmus said the legislation was proposed to address a “need borne of a de facto situation in Turkey and traditions.”

He added: “I want to underline that this will not encompass the crime of rape.”

The government has said the bill will apply to 3,000 men imprisoned for breaking the law on child marriage.

The plan, which will be debated Tuesday, has been criticized by opposition lawmakers, women’s rights groups and international bodies such as the UN for reducing protection for the potential victims of sexual abuse.

However, Kurtulmus stressed that the proposals were not an amnesty for abusers and challenged the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to introduce their own proposed changes.

“The issue will be in the parliament tomorrow,” he said. “I want to say that if the CHP and the MHP have another proposal and bring it forward we are ready to evaluate it.”

The draft law was submitted to parliament on Thursday by Mehmet Mus, vice chairman of the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party’s parliamentary group.

The legal age for marriage in Turkey is 17 but under Civil Code Article 124, a judge can allow a 16-year-old to marry.

In cases of sexual abuse where the victim is under 12, the minimum prison sentence is 10 years and for victims age 12 to 18 the sentence is eight to 15 years. The minimum jail term for raping someone under 12 is 18 years and for raping someone aged 12 to 18 it is 16 years.

Turning to international issues, Kurtulmus condemned a proposed Israeli bill that could place noise restrictions on the Muslim call to prayer.

“It is totally against freedom of belief, religion and conscience,” he said.

The proposal applies to all religions across Israel but many fear it is aimed at mosques that broadcast the Adhan, or call to prayer, five times a day.

Kurtulmus said that Muslims, Christians and Jews had lived together in Jerusalem for centuries. “It is not understandable to try to turn down the volume of the Adhan at mosques in a city that has such a multicultural background,” he said. “It is insult to Jerusalem’s culture, history, past, and multiculturalism.”