Man Sets Ex-Wife And Mother Of His 2 Children On Fire With Flammable Fluid For Divorcing Him

A man has been arrested for setting his ex-wife – who is also the mother of his two children – on fire using a flammable fluid after she divorced him because he beat her up.

The woman who was set on fire, allegedly by her ex-husband, has been named as Elvan Soezkesen, 38, and she is said to have divorced her husband of 10 years, named as Erkan Emiroglu, five months ago.

Soezkesen had divorced her husband five months ago because he was “violent towards her”. However, her husband reportedly could not handle the separation and wanted to remarry.

Erkan Emiroglu, (right) who set fire to his ex-wife, Elvan Sozkesen, (left) who did not agree to remarry, by pouring flammable liquid on her in Ordu, Turkey, on 12th January 2022. (Newsflash)

When she went to the courthouse two days ago to file a report against her husband, who threatened her after she refused to remarry, he allegedly poured a flammable fluid on her and set her on fire in the incident that took place yesterday (12th January).

The woman was engulfed in flames and screamed for help, with people coming to her aid. She was taken to a bathroom and the fire was put out with water.

The incident was reported to the police and to paramedics, and the woman was taken to hospital by ambulance in a life-threatening condition.

Erkan Emiroglu, (left) who set fire to his ex-wife, Elvan Sozkesen, (right) who did not agree to remarry, by pouring flammable liquid on her in Ordu, Turkey, on 12th January 2022. (Newsflash)

The ex-husband fled the scene but was later caught and taken into custody.

Soezkesen has since been transferred to the Burn Centre at the Training and Research Hospital in Samsun.

Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, in particular after the country officially quit the Istanbul Convention in July last year. According to the 2021 Annual Data Report announced by the ‘We Will Stop Femicides Platform’, 280 women were killed by men in 2021, while 217 women were found suspiciously dead.

Elvan Sozkesen, (pictured) who did not agree to remarry her ex-husband Erkan Emiroglu, was set on fire by him by pouring flammable liquid on her in Ordu, Turkey, on 12th January 2022. (Newsflash)

According to data from ‘The Monument Counter’, which is a webpage established to keep alive the memory of the women who died due to violence against women in Turkey and is updated every day, seven femicides have taken place since the beginning of 2022.