ISTANBUL (AP) — The parents and husband of a woman who was forced into marriage when she was just six years old went on trial in Turkey on Monday on charges of child and sexual abuse, in a case that has shone a spotlight on the country’s religious sects.
The woman — now aged 24 and identified only as H.K.G. — had filed a complaint in 2020 against her parents and the man she was forced into marrying as a child in a religious union. The defendants are members of a foundation linked to the influential Ismailaga religious group.
The incident, which was reported by Turkey’s Birgun newspaper last year, sparked public outrage and calls for greater scrutiny of Islamic sects which have become more prominent under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Erdogan’s ruling party has roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement.
On Monday, the court ruled to hold the hearings behind closed doors and imposed a ban on broadcasts concerning the trial, the T24 news website reported.
full article here
