Turkish man jailed for rape attempt prevented by ‘heroic’ cat

DİYARBAKIR – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

A Diyarbakır court has sentenced a potential rapist to 7.5 years in jail after his attempt to assault his 18-year-old aunt was prevented by the woman’s “heroic” cat.The woman, identified only by the initials H.T., avoided an attempted rape by her sister’s son-in-law in 2014 after her cat named “Minnoş” lunged at the 20-year-old attacker, identified only by the initials S.B.“I was faced with a villain, a pervert. He could have killed me but my cat saved my life by attacking him. [Minnoş] is my hero,” H.T. told reporters.She said her husband had given the cat to her as a gift three years ago and added they are like a family now.“People say cats are ungrateful. But in fact it is people who are ungrateful. Animals are loyal. Minnoş sees me as her mother. She is worth the world to me and she will always be with us,” H.T. added.The woman’s lawyer, Deniz Emine Kayar, stressed that the rape attempt failed only because Minnoş was there to attack the assaulter.Kayar also expressed dissatisfaction that the prosecutor evaluated the case as “sexual abuse” rather than “qualified sexual assault,” and said they would appeal the 7.5-year jail sentence.“The action was prevented because of the cat’s attack. But it was evaluated by court as if the suspect voluntarily changed his mind. The cat was not taken into consideration before reaching a verdict,” she said, underlining that being forced to surrender is very different from giving up voluntarily.Violence against women remains a key issue of concern in Turkey. A report by the Human Rights Association indicates some 191 women were sexually abused or assaulted in 2014, while at least 585 women were subjected to violence. The “We Will Stop Femicide” platform recently released a report stating that 303 women were murdered throughout 2015, with roughly 30 percent killed by their husbands and 25 percent by a family member.