Press banned from reporting on Sakarya rape case

A total of 26 people, including 23 students aged between 13 and 17, have been taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the rape of a 14-year-old high school student. Among those arrested were two police chiefs, E.T. and N.Ş.

The Sakarya Public Prosecutor's Office last week launched a confidential investigation into the matter.

N.Ş.'s lawyer İsmail Gürses appealed to Sakarya's Fourth High Criminal Court for a publication ban on the case. The court accepted the ban and has forbidden the press to print any information or documents related to the rape case while the Sakarya Public Prosecutor's Office continues its investigation.

In the province of Samsun, two brothers, Fatih A. and Recep A.,were arrested for beating their wives, who are also sisters. After the women filed complaints, their husbands were arrested but later released.

In an unrelated incident, a man allegedly sexually abused a teenage girl under the pretext of helping her escape the rain in the province of Gaziantep. After telling the 16-year-old that he could give her a ride, A.Ç., 26, allegedly inappropriately touched her. The young girl jumped from the vehicle and was later taken to the hospital for treatment. Police arrested A.Ç. and referred him to court.

Violence against women is a pressing concern in Turkey, where UN 2011 statistics show 39 percent of women have reported being sexually or physically abused. Legal experts and women's rights activists believe the actual figure is much higher.