In the incident that shook Alanya, lawyer responds to harassment allegations: "No harassment, it’s slander"

Lawyer responds to harassment allegations in Alanya case: “No harassment, it’s slander”

Z.E., who was detained on allegations of sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl, has been arrested by court order. His lawyer claimed that the 40-year-long tradesman is innocent and was subjected to a malicious complaint while trying to help in good faith.

Z.E., a tradesman in Alanya for about 40 years, was arrested and sent to prison over allegations of harassing a 14-year-old girl. The incident came to light when the girl told her family what had happened. Following the family’s complaint to the police, the Alanya District Police Department launched an investigation. Z.E. was detained at his workplace. After being processed at the police station, the suspect was referred to the Alanya Courthouse and was arrested by the on-duty court, then sent to Mahmutlar Closed Prison.

"MY CLIENT ONLY HELPED"

Z.E.’s lawyer, Ömer Faruk Kadıoğlu, stated that his client denies the accusations and said:

“My client Z.E. has been a well-respected tradesman in Alanya for 40 years. He has been living in his shop since 1996, has never been involved in any criminal incident, has a clean record, and is respected in his community.

About four months ago, on a rainy day, a 14-year-old girl living on the same street as his shop took shelter in front of the shop to avoid the rain. Since it was past school hours, my client acted humanely, took her to school, and returned to his workplace.

Approximately four months later, without any apparent reason, the girl’s mother came to the shop and verbally insulted him. Since my client had no guilt, he called the police and reported the situation. A guilty person would not call the police themselves. The police took both parties to the station for statements, and afterward, my client was unlawfully arrested without any concrete evidence.

My client is a married man with children, known by 9 out of 10 tradesmen in Alanya. This is a malicious complaint in a situation where he tried to help in good faith. It is an assassination of character. The legal process is ongoing.”