RE the Turkish rape case where the victim was 13 years old
Quote:
In his statement to Anatolian Agency, Elmas, the official from the Supreme Court of Appeals, argued that the court had no choice but to sentence the defendants according to the pre-2005 version of the penal code.
"We don't have any other option," Elmas said. "This is an undebatable rule of law."
But that decision was challenged by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations on Friday, which called the ruling "legally inappropriate."
Meanwhile, in a written statement released on her ministry's web-site, Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Sahin argued the ruling violated not only the current criminal code, but also the older version which had been in force in 2002 at the time when the 26 men were accused of having sex with the 13 year old.
"I find the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals 14th Criminal Office to approve the verdict of the local court that a 13-year old child 'got together with the defendants of her own free will' unacceptable and worrying," Sahin wrote.
"I would like to remind the judiciary that its primary task is to protect the victim and the rights of the one who was sexually abused," she added.
OH REALLY??!! We used to teach that the purpose of the system is to promote justice for all, in fact it has only been in the last two decades that in America the victims even gained the right to speak at sentencing hearings, so when did it become the system's prime duty to protect victims??
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