Man beats daughter to death while hanging her by her arms after release from prison on coronavirus amnesty
A violent prisoner who murdered his nine-year-old daughter after being released from prison amid the coronavirus pandemic has now been arrested.
Muslum Aslan was thrown behind bars last year for reportedly stabbing his wife Rukiye Aslan in Gaziantep, Turkey. He was reportedly released from jail last week as part of the Turkey government's coronavirus amnesty scheme, according to the Daily Mirror.
Local media reports explained that inmates were released from custody in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus in overcrowded prisons.
The 33-year-old convicted felon went to his estranged wife's home as soon as he was released and attempted to kidnap their three children, resulting in a violent altercation that claimed the life of Ceylan Aslan, who was reportedly beaten to death by her own father.
Aslan subsequently fled the scene and was later apprehended by authorities at a nearby park.
Ceylan, who was immediately rushed to hospital, succumbed to injuries she sustained during the fight.
“He used violence against my children all the time," Rukiye, who has reportedly filed for divorce, said. "He hung my elder daughter from her arms to wall, then battered her with a hose. Leaving Ceylan in blood on the floor, he left my two sons in front of our house by taxi and ran away."
"My daughter is dead. I want this murder to be punished heavily for what he has done," she added.
Ceylan's tragic death has sparked a major outrage online, with several women's rights groups slamming the government's decision to free domestic violence offenders.
“Take immediate action to protect women and children from the violence that has been unleashed by the amnesty law," tweeted We Will Stop Femicide, an organization that campaigns against domestic violence.
At least 29 women have been killed since March 11 — the day Turkey reported its first coronavirus case — and the end of the month, according to the group.
That said, it is unclear if Aslan has been charged for killing his nine-year-old daughter.
Restrictive measures like lockdown and mandatory isolation to contain the novel coronavirus have raised concerns over the increased risk of domestic violence and abuse.
France and Australia were the first to report a spike in domestic violence figures since the outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent stay-at-home orders. In addition, the lockdown has also intensified alcoholism and mental health problems.
The UN also urged governments all over the world to especially focus on domestic cases emerging from the lockdown.
UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Simonovic, said in warning: "It is very likely that rates of widespread domestic violence will increase, as already suggested by initial police and hotline reports. For too many women and children, home can be a place of fear and abuse. That situation worsens considerably in cases of isolation such as the lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic."
"Governments must not allow the extraordinary circumstances and restrictive measures against Covid-19 to lead to the violation of women's right to a life free from violence", she added.
The novel coronavirus, medically known as SARS-CoV-2, has infected 98,674 people and caused 2,376 fatalities in Turkey, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, a total of 2,611,182 confirmed cases with 181,235 deaths have been recorded the world over, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.