Actress Ezgi Mola fined for ‘insulting’ a former soldier facing charges of ‘sexual assault’

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Actress Ezgi Mola has been sentenced to pay a deferred 65-day judicial fine on the grounds that she allegedly "insulted" discharged Specialist Sergeant Musa O., who has been standing trial for "sexually assaulting" İpek Er and driving her to suicide in southeastern Batman province.

Holding the trial with the simple procedure method, the Ankara 31st Criminal Court of First Instance announced its verdict on Friday (October 1) and ruled that Ezgi Mola should pay a 90-day judicial fine on charges of "insult with an audio, visual or written message" and "insult."

As reported by daily BirGün, the judicial fine of the actress was first increased to 105 days "because the act was committed publicly" and then reduced to 65 days "considering the effects of the fine on the defendant." Ruling that Ezgi Mola shall pay a judicial fine of 5 thousand 200 Turkish Lira (~580 USD), the court has deferred the pronouncement of the ruling.

The detailed ruling has noted that the related social media post of Mola "targeted the defendant against whom there had been no final court ruling" and concluded that the post "brought a concrete accusation against Musa O. in such a way to tarnish his dignity, honor and reputation."

The detailed ruling has also concluded that Ezgi Mola committed the crime of "insulting with an audio, visual or written message."

What happened?

Having committed suicide in Turkey's southeastern province of Batman, İpek Er lost her life 34 days later, on August 18, 2020, while she was in treatment at hospital. Having left a letter behind, she said that gendarmerie officer Musa O. had sexually assaulted her.

On duty in Siirt province, Musa O. was indicted by the Siirt Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the indictment was accepted by the Siirt 1st Heavy Penal Court. O. is now facing a minimum of 12 years in prison on charge of "aggravated sexual assault." While Musa O. was not arrested pending trial, the incident caused a huge public backlash, especially on social media.

Actress Ezgi Mola was also one of the hundreds of people who protested on social media. On August 20, 2020, she wrote on Twitter, "Drown in your conscience that has freed the rapist bastard. You have taken everything from us, the law, prayers, wishes, desires, requests, hopes!! What should I say! Shame on you! Shame on you!! #ArrestMusaOrhan."

Mehmet Erkan Akkuş, the attorney of Musa O., applied to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and filed a criminal complaint about this social media post. Mola was indicted upon his criminal complaint on charges of "insult with audio, written or visual message" and "insult".

Facing up to 2 years, 4 months on the offenses charged, Ezgi Mola's indictment was accepted by the Ankara 31st Criminal Court of First Instance. After the lawsuit was reported in the press, it also sparked an outrage on social media, several people expressed support for Mola. (EMK/SD)