Opposition party files complaint against Turkey's state-run news agency over 'child marriage' story

Duvar English

Turkish government's 'marry-your-rapist' draft law causes uproar on social media

Turkey's Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has filed a complaint against the country's state-run news agency over a story that "promotes child sexual abuse."

The party sued Anadolu Agency after it released a story on "a woman, who got married at the age of 14, waiting for her husband to get out of jail" on April 16, saying that the content of the story, as well as its wording, "normalizes child sexual abuse."

"It's a crime to marry a 14-year-old child and is accepted as sexual abuse of a child. Marriages done at an early age should be accepted as physical and mental mistreatment of the child. These marriages can't be described as 'early marriages,' 'child brides,' 'child marriages' or 'woman who got married at an early age,'" the HDP said.

"Making the marriage of a 14-year-old child seem legitimate is without a doubt a crime and shouldn't be left unpunished," it added.

AKP proposes to grant amnesty to child abusers who wed victims

The party also drew attention to the fact that the agency deemed a religious marriage sufficient instead of an official one.

"It shows that Anadolu Agency doesn't recognize the legal regulations on the issue," it said.

Anadolu Agency's report came amid a debate on a so-called "marry-your-rapist" draft law, which was prepared by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and caused uproar on social media.

The bill stipulates allowing men accused of having sex with girls who are at the age of 14 and above to avoid punishment if they marry their victims.

The bill wasn't submitted to parliament.