Turkish actress sentenced to pay fine for condemning release of sergeant accused of rape

Duvar English

A Turkish court on Oct. 1 sentenced actress Ezgi Mola to pay a fine of 5,200 liras for “insulting” Musa Orhan, a former sergeant accused of sexually assaulting a young woman who killed herself.

The court deferred the announcement of the verdict, meaning that if Mola is found guilty of similar charges within the next five years, the conviction will not appear on her criminal record.

The case dates back to August 2020 when Mola protested Orhan's release by referring to him as a “rapist” and “scum.”

Orhan was arrested on Aug. 19, 2020 following public outrage over 18-year-old Kurdish woman İpek Er's death. In a suicide note she left on July 16, 2020, Er wrote that she had been kidnapped and raped by Orhan for 20 days. She later lost her life in the hospital in August after she shot herself. 

Despite the grave accusations, Orhan was released in less than a week on Aug. 25, 2020, and since then stands trial without arrest.

Orhan's release prompted a public outcry in August 2020, with several people pointing the hypocrisy of the judicial-making processes, one of which was Mola.

"Drown in your conscience that let out a rapist scum! You've taken away all law, prayer, wishes, requests and hope we had!! I don't have anything to say!! Shame on you!!" Mola tweeted Aug. 20, 2020.

Afterwards, Orhan's lawyer Mehmet Erkan Akkuş filed a lawsuit at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, demanding up to two years in jail for Mola.

The Ankara 31st Penal Court of First Instance on Oct. 1 announced its verdict, sentencing Mola to pay a judicial fine of 5,200 liras on charges of “insulting” Orhan.

The court said in its ruling that Orhan had not been yet convicted and Mola had “offended the suspect's honor and respectability.”