HKG, the daughter of Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel, the founder of the Hiranur Foundation affiliated with the İsmailağa Community, complained that her father “married” her at the age of 6 in an imam marriage and that she was sexually abused every day during her childhood. HKG, who had an imam marriage with a 29-year-old disciple at the age of 6, explained in his statement that sexual abuse was shown to him as a game.
According to the indictment quoted by Timur Soykan from BirGün, when he was only 6 years old, they married HKG to one of the cult members, Kadir Isteli. Kadir Wishli took him to a photography studio. Years later, in his statement, HKG explained his experiences one day after the imam marriage was held:
“Kadir caressed my body, rubbed my feet and then ejaculated on my feet. I cried. Kadir said we were married. My mother told me that we are married, just as my father was married. ‘You are my wife, I am your husband,’ she said. ‘Married people play such games, but this game is not told to anyone. Look, your mom and dad don’t tell anyone,’ he said. My mother and father used to call Kadir ‘my son-in-law’.”
The details of the indictment were conveyed as follows:
A year later, HKG went to their hometown Sakarya Sapanca with his parents. Kadir Wishli was with them. On the second floor of their house in Sapanca, Kadir Isteli raped HKG. In 2011, his father started to build a large complex in Sancaktepe and they settled there. The little boy was engaged when he was 13 years old, and when he was 14 years old, the wedding was held. After the wedding, Kadir Wishli and HKG started to live in the same house.
4 months after the wedding, on 17 August 2012, her mother Fatma Gümüşel took her to the hospital. Her periods were irregular. The doctor immediately understood the abuse of the child and informed the police. The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation.
“I am 17 years old, I got married voluntarily,” HKG said in his statement.
They referred HKG to Haydarpaşa Numune Hospital for the determination of bone age. Instead of HKG, they put a 21-year-old woman in for bone testing. 4 months later, on 10 December 2012, the bone age report was released. The age of HKG, who declared that she was 17 years old, was 21 in the report. However, it was decided not to prosecute.
In his statement, HKG said:
“After this incident, I shut myself up again. I tried to obey, I did not break my family’s word. I got pregnant at 17. After the child was born, I found peace. But they took my child from me. When I searched on my cell phone, I realized that it is not normal to get married at the age of 6.”
On October 30, 2022, the indictment of the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was completed. The prosecutor explained in the indictment that HKG’s parents condoned the rape. In the indictment, it was stated that Kadir Willed, the leader of the cult, father Yusuf Ziya Gümüşel and mother Fatma Gümüşel, committed the crime of sexual abuse of the child in a chain. It was requested that the three defendants be sentenced to at least 27 years in prison each. In addition, the prosecutor demanded a penalty for Kadir Isleli on the charge of sexual assault.
