Story By: Peotr Tulba, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit:AsiaWire
This is the shocking moment a man on a bus decides to give a young woman a slap on the face as he goes past to punish her for wearing shorts in an attack that has seen him jailed.
The incident happened on 17th June on a bus in the Turkish city of Istanbul, where local university student Asena Melisa Saglam was sitting reading a book and listening to music while wearing shorts.
Sitting behind her on the route through the Pendik district of the city was a young man who looks uncomfortable at the sight of her legs, and then when the bus pulls into its next stop, he gets up to leave but slaps her on the face as he goes by. He also reportedly insulted her.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
The young woman, who was shocked by the blow, runs up to confront her attacker, and in the tussle he then shoves her backwards and runs off by jumping off the bus. She is then seen peering after him before collapsing on the floor of the bus, clearly upset.
The attacker, later identified as Erkan Kyzylatesh, was tracked down and arrested and has now been jailed for 5 months and 25 days for insulting the young woman in the incident that happened two years ago now.
It later emerged that this was not the first time the young man has carried out a similar attack, and it was revealed he had previously been jailed for 3 years and 4 months for a similar incident in which he allegedly stabbed another woman.
After the case at the 14th Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul was over, the young woman thanked people who had contacted her to offer their support, and who had urged her not to be silent.
She said: “First of all, I am very happy, and I’m grateful to the lawyers and to the justice system. The sad thing that happened to me two years ago has now finally put a smile on my face. I think such negative thing should more often be put on the agenda, because only by voicing them can they be tackled.”
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