Not hurt

Maybe, just maybe, something positive might come out of the sexual abuse case that has attracted a lot of attention lately. It involves the rape of a 14 year old girl by Hüseyin Üzmez, a columnist of a national daily newspaper. He was arrested a few months ago but was released from prison recently because of some stupid report, which claimed the girl was not physically or mentally hurt by the rape.

Of course there was protest against the report, and demonstrations have been held urging judges to put the guy back in prison. But the judge has now said that the report was made by experts and that the suspect will remain free until the trial.

How can something like this have a positive outcome? Well, members of parliament have now proposed to raise the sentence for rape of a minor. As well, the publicity surrounding the case has made public debate of the issues more open. And the girl? I can only hope that she gets proper help and that she will not suffer long-term trauma. It would help if Mr. Üzmez is convicted and spends some time behind bars.