Fatma Nur and Hifa case set for October 14: Lawyer Tozbey's passport revoked

The case against A.Ş., a manager at the Quran Service Foundation who is accused of abusing Fatma Nur Çelik — whom he exploited as a child and forced into marriage — and also abusing her eight-year-old daughter Hifa İkra Şengüler, will be heard again tomorrow, October 14, at Istanbul Anadolu 2nd High Criminal Court.

The case was postponed to the current date at the May 5 hearing. Despite existing reports, A.Ş. has not been arrested.

Fatma Nur Çelik and her daughter Hifa İkra Şengüler died under suspicious circumstances on March 2, 2024. Both were buried.

Müjde Tozbey, the family's lawyer and Chair of the Children and Women First Association, announced in a statement to Bianet prior to the hearing that her passport had been revoked. Tozbey said, "I am a lawyer with 25 years of experience. They revoked my passport," and drew public attention to the case in which the defendant remains tried while at liberty.

Tozbey emphasized that impunity policies leave children and women defenseless, and invited everyone to attend tomorrow's hearing.

At the previous session, objections were raised at Istanbul Anadolu 2nd High Criminal Court against a request to hear young Hifa İkra in the courtroom; complaints subsequently filed with the Judges and Prosecutors Board (HSK) and the objections themselves were both dismissed.