A Turkish court on Monday ruled to release a man who attacked a four months pregnant woman in a park in Manisa’s Turgutlu district while the woman was doing fitness activities last week.
The attacker, identified as Mehmet Tanrıbilen, was arrested on Friday.
Tanrıbilen reportedly got out of his car and approached Ebru Tireli, 32, while she was doing physical exercises in the park near her house. The man told Tireli “You are not going to do fitness here again” and took off one of his shoes and began to hit the woman. Tireli later said in her statement to the police she lost her balance and fell to the ground and that the man continued to hit and kick her while she was down.
Tireli said she begged the man not to hit her, saying she was pregnant and could lose her baby. She said the attacker fled the area due to her screams.
Police teams on Thursday detained Tanrıbilen as part of the investigation into the attack on Tireli, and the man was arrested by a court on Friday.
However, a Manisa court ruled for his release on Monday after Tanrıbilen’s lawyers submitted security camera footage to the court showing that Tanrıbilen’s automobile was parked in front of his house throughout the night. The man denies the charges.
In September Turkey was shaken by a similar incident when a 23-year-old nurse, Ayşegül Terzi, was attacked by a man while she was travelling on a bus because she was wearing shorts.
