A Turkish court has fined a doctor for biting her violent husband to stop him from strangling her to death.
The Turkish Penal Code defines the fine as comprising a minimum of five days, up to a maximum of 730 days, with a daily penalty ranging from a minimum of TRY 20 (GBP 1) to a maximum of TRY 100 (GBP 5). This means her fine could potentially be the equivalent of GBP 560.
The court determined that Filiz was guilty of ‘deliberately injuring her husband under unjust provocation’.
Filiz, who works at a hospital as a physician, first filed a complaint with the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on 29th April 2018.
She alleged that on the day of the incident, she and her husband Ibrahim K. started arguing in front of their children at her mother-in-law’s house.
Filiz said they returned home, where the row escalated and ended up with Ibrahim slapping her, punching her in the face and wrestling her to the floor.
She said he then sat on top of her while punching her face and also throttling her. Barely able to breathe, she managed to bite his wrists to save her life.
The Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ended up preparing an indictment against Ibrahim K. on charges of ‘insult’, ‘intentional injury’ and ‘armed threat’.
The Ankara West 7th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced him to one year, nine months and 18 days in prison for ‘intentional injury’.
He was acquitted of the other two charges due to lack of evidence.
However, the court ended up reducing his sentence to one year, one month and 15 days after ruling he carried out the act under ‘unjust provocation’.
Filiz appealed the decision and the Ankara Regional Court of Justice ended up overturning it.
The Ankara West 7th Criminal Court of First Instance then reexamined the case file and sentenced him again, this time to two years, one month and eight days in prison.
The court noted that the attack was so vicious that it resulted in Filiz sustaining fractured bones.
However, despite this, it ended up reducing his sentence once again, to one year, nine months and one day, by applying a ‘good behaviour reduction’.
To add insult to injury, the same court then fined Filiz for injuring her husband, even though his injuries, unlike hers, required no medical intervention.
It is unclear if she intends to appeal the ruling.
Ibrahim is now reported to be on trial again, this time at the Bodrum Criminal Court of First Instance, for allegedly beating the couple’s children.
