One person arrested over violence against children at a religious cult's dorm

"Children have a say on their body" (Hale Güzin Kızılaslan/csgorselarsiv.org) - *News: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

Having battered the children staying at the male students' dormitory of the Süleymancılar religious cult in İstanbul's Esenler, dorm worker Aykut E. has been arrested on charge of "actual bodily harm".

Detained by the teams of the Esenler District Security Directorate, Aykut E. was referred to the Bakırköy Courthouse following the health check. In his statement at the prosecutor's office, E. said that he is a mining engineer, he joined the related association as an office worker in April 2021 and there is a male students' dorm under the roof of this association.

Arguing that he was doing paperwork at the association and sometimes helping the students with their lessons since he is good at numbers, he briefly said, "The incident in the video footage happened on March 17, 2022. I came to help the study group, but they kept on talking even though I warned them not to. The student named M.E.P. showed mocking behavior towards me. They started to make more noise together. I slapped them in the head in a moment of rage to ensure quiet. I repent".

Aykut E. said that he resigned from the association on March 18, 2022. He has been arrested on charge of "actual bodily harm".

What happened?

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ankara MP Yıldırım Kaya shared the video of violence against children on Twitter.

He said, "The images were captured in a boy's dormitory of Süleymancılar religious community in İstanbul's Esenler". Addressing the Ministry of National Education, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, he asked: "What has been done to ensure that these unconscientious people are brought to justice. Have they got away with it?"

In a written statement about the incident on Twitter, the Governor's Office of İstanbul announced that "the dorm official who inflicted violence on students at a private male student's dormitory in Esenler had been taken into custody as part of the judicial investigation". (AÖ/SD)