Dad ‘murders nine-year-old daughter’ just days after being released from prison in a coronavirus amnesty
A DAD has been arrested and faces charges of murdering his nine-year-old daughter just days after being released from prison.
Muslum Aslan, 33, was jailed last year for stabbing his wife but was released last week after Turkey approved measures to reduce sentences for nearly a third of the nation's incarcerated population in a bid to stop the coronavirus tearing through prisons.
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The coronavirus amnesty scheme enacted in Turkey on 15th April has seen countries across the world temporarily release 'low-risk' non-violent offenders in an effort to avoid the virus sweeping through prisons, infecting thousands.
Many prisoners share overcrowded cells, making it an easy environment for the disease to spread.
After Aslan was released he went to his wife, Rukiye's, home in the city of Gaziantep in the province of the same name in south-eastern Turkey, local media reports.
The former inmate then tried to abscond with their three children.
Reports say he and Rukiye began arguing as Aslan beat his nine-year-old daughter Ceylan Aslan during the fight.
He used violence against my children all the time. He hung my elder daughter from her arms to wall, then battered her with a hose.
Rukiye Aslan, Mother
His wife called the police and the father-of-three fled the scene before he was eventually arrested in a park.
Ceylan was taken to a hospital but she later died despite the doctors’ best efforts.
Her mother, who has reportedly filed for divorce from the suspect, said: “He used violence against my children all the time. He hung my elder daughter from her arms to wall, then battered her with a hose.
"Leaving Ceylan in blood on the floor, he left my two sons in front of our house by taxi and ran away.
"My daughter is dead. I want this murder to be punished heavily for what he has done.”
The girl’s death has caused outrage online, with women’s rights campaigners slamming the release of domestic violence offenders.
We Will Stop Femicide, an organisation which campaigns against domestic violence, said: “Take immediate action to protect women and children from the violence that has been unleashed by the amnesty law.”
The organisation said at least 29 women had been killed between 11th March - when Turkey reported its first case of COVID-19. - and the end of March.
It is unclear if the suspect has been charged.
MOST READ IN NEWS
In the UK, domestic abuse killings have risen by 160 per cent with 16 deaths during the three-week coronavirus lockdown.
On average, two women a week are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales alone, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird today revealed there had been five deaths reported a week since the lockdown began three weeks ago.
Dame Vera told the Home Affairs Committee: "Counting dead women has reached a total of 16 domestic abuse killings in the last three weeks.
"We usually say there are two a week - that looks to me like five a week.
"That's the size of this crisis."
Domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid has launched a campaign to highlight a nationwide increase of the problem in lockdown.
SIMPLE STEPS TO STAY SAFER
WOMEN’S Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
Get help
IF you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – message.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service available at chat.womensaid. org.uk.
Due to limited funding, it is open from 10am to noon.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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