The bill, which will bring amnesty to child abuse through marriage, was submitted to the Parliament on January 16 to be approved by commission.Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said: “We looked at it technically and now the parliament will decide. There are new applications regarding the elderly, women, pregnancy, applications about house arrest and good conduct" and left the issue to the initiative of the parliament to be discussed.

 

The amnesty bill is being executed under such names as "conditional penalty reduction and execution arrangement". No matter how much they try to cover up with technical expressions, some criminals will be released if the bill is enacted. We asked citizens living in Istanbul what they thought about the draft law.

 

'NO AMNESTY FOR THE ABUSER'

 

Mine Özdemir, a public servant, emphasized that the person who will recieve the sentence will not be a normal person and that if he is sentenced to prison and then get pardoned on condition that he marries the child will be reward given by the judiciary.  Özdemir said: "This is unacceptable. A person who commits that crime can not be rewarded like this."

 

'WE HEAR THINGS WE HAVE NEVER HEARD IN OUR LIVES'

 

Retired worker Ruhsar Eroymak said: "I have been opposing this from the start. I do not accept this. Do not touch our children, don't play with their future, they are our most precios assets." 70 year old Eroymak stated that children should not be married, no matter how old they are, and that this should not be legitimized by the draft law. Eroymak said, “I have never heard such things in my life. We are hearing things we never heard in our lives. No amnesty for those who abuse children!"

 

'ITS EMBERRASSING TO EVEN DISCUSS THIS AT THE PARLIAMENT'

 

Mehmet Çığır who is apalled by the bill, said: "This is without question, unacceptable. This can not happen. They can't pass this bill in the world. The only place for people that abuse children is prison. There is no other way. It is emberrassing to even this being discussed at the parliament."

 

'THIS BILL CAN NOT BE DISCUSSED AT THE PARLIAMENT'

 

Another citizen Musa Uysal, stating that he did not want this bill to pass, said: "Our children are our future, the future of this country. There are children whose mothers and fathers have died. Maybe some parents will not concent to this law but they will not have a say in this. We can't accept a child to be married to their raper. A bill like that can not be discussed at the parliement."