Turkish man sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping a Nigerian student in 2021

A Turkish man who took a Nigerian student from Lefkosa to a deserted place in Dikmen, where he severely battered her and raped her has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The accused, Hasan Berköz, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court in Lefkosa on Friday, April, 13 after he was found guilty of rape and assault.

Delivering the judgement, senior Judge Mine Ozankaya noted that the accused took the young woman to a deserted place in Dikmen with the promise that he would drive her home. He then severely battered and raped her, offered money to her not to tell the police, and threatened her with death when she refused to accept the money.

The judge stated that the young woman experienced severe trauma and still hasn't recovered from it and that the sexual rape crimes committed against her bodily integrity also inflicted deep wounds on the soul of the person.

The judge stated that the accused was excessively drunk on the day of the incident, but this factor cannot be considered as a mitigating factor in favor of his action.

The judge announced that they found him guilty in 4 cases in which the accused was tried for and then sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

What Happened? 

The accused, Hasan Berköz at around 12:30am on October, 7, 2021 approached a 23-year-old Nigerian student named only as BNU near the Near East University in Lefkosa, while she was waiting for a taxi to go to her residence in Gonyeli.

The accused took the young woman in his car to a deserted spot in Dikmen, on the pretext of going to drop her at home. After the vehicle stopped, the young woman tried to open the door and escape, but the accused, who was running after her, caught her, beat her, and put her back in the vehicle. 

The accused tried to choke the young woman who bit him in defence. 

After the defendant raped the young woman in the back seat of the vehicle, he offered her money to not go to the police. The defendant, whose offer was not accepted, threatened to slit the young woman's throat.