Turkish colonel sentenced to 44 years in prison over sexually assaulting soldiers
Former Sakarya Garrison Commander Colonel Fahri Can Çağlar, who was arrested for sexually assaulting soldiers under his command, was sentenced to 44 years in prison.
Duvar English
A Turkish court on Nov. 21 sentenced former Sakarya Garrison Commander Colonel Fahri Can Çağlar to 44 years in prison for five different counts over sexually assaulting soldiers under his command.
Çağlar was arrested in 2022 after 15 soldiers filed criminal complaints against him.
The investigation, which was placed under confidentiality, began on March 27, 2022, when a soldier went to the Sakarya Police Station to file a report about the incident. However, it was later discovered that the soldier who was called to give a statement did not attend the prosecutor’s office.
Subsequently, the prosecutor's office processed a criminal complaint filed by three other soldiers and called in additional soldiers stationed at the officers’ club for questioning.
Later in 2022, 15 soldiers filed criminal complaints against Çağlar. Following the gathered evidence, the former colonel was first taken into custody and later arrested by the court.
The families of the soldiers confirmed the allegations without revealing their names due to security concerns. After the incident, two commanders were assigned by the Aegean Garrison Command to conduct an internal military investigation.
In 2015, Fahri Can Çağlar’s aide, Taha Yapar, died by suicide. At that time, it was also argued that the suicide might have been related to abuse and a subsequent cover-up.