Turkish man arrested for assaulting his ex wife in front of her child

A viral video on social media saw a Turkish woman being beaten up on the street by a man before the eyes of her child on Saturday, March 6.

An abusive man in the Black Sea province of Samsun was detained and later arrested on March 7, after a video of him beating up his 24-year-old ex-wife went viral on social media.

The video footage shows İbrahim Zarap brutally punching and kicking his ex-wife, identified only by the initials E.M., in front of their child on a street while residents in the neighborhood shouted at the man to stop.

Zarap was prevented from escaping the crime scene by passersby, who then handed him over to the police.

The perpetrator said that he was beaten by the people who intervened in the incident and that he will file a complaint against them.

He was arrested on charges of “attempted murder,” while the Samsun Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the woman and her child were taken under protection.

Multiple Turkish authorities released statements on the issue after the massive fury on social media, with Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül saying that the perpetrator will receive the sentence he deserves.

Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk said that the ministry would join the criminal case so that the perpetrator receives the heaviest punishment. 

All necessary social service models and psychosocial support will be provided to the mother and our child, she said.

Turkey is no stranger to acts of violence against women or femicides, where a woman is killed by someone she knows almost every day.

Some 67 women were murdered only in the first 65 days of 2021, according to the Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu (We Will Stop Femicide Platform), a women’s rights organization that monitors violence against women. Women’s rights groups are continuing to call for the full implementation of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, an international treaty obliging signatories to combat violence against women.