As reported by Kısa Dalga, the investigation was launched after it was revealed that two girls among a group of 510 orphans evacuated from Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast by Ukrainian businessman Ruslan Shostak had become pregnant while staying in Antalya. A field report signed by eleven Ukrainian officials, obtained by OCCRP and detailed by journalists from Agos and Slidstvo.info, documented that the orphaned children were neglected and subjected to psychological and sexual abuse. Following this report, the Ukrainian Ombudsman's office filed a complaint, initiating a legal process in Turkey.
Critically, the Turkish prosecutor’s office did not pursue the case under the charge of "sexual abuse of a child." Instead, it was opened under the lesser charge of "sexual intercourse with a minor." The prosecutor then decided to drop the case entirely, arguing that since the girls had turned 15 by the estimated date of conception based on their pregnancies, they had "consented" to the sexual intercourse and had not filed a formal complaint. Notably, the prosecutors did not hear the girls' testimonies before closing the case.
Alarmingly, witness accounts cited in the report suggest a cover-up. Ukrainian instructors allegedly pressured the children not to speak negatively about the hotel staff and made them sign documents stating that any relationships with Turkish men were consensual. After their pregnancies were discovered, the two girls, identified as N. and I., were swiftly sent back to Ukraine. One of them, I., reportedly attempted suicide three months after giving birth.
A Turkish chef working at the hotel, identified as S., provided damning testimony, admitting he entered the girls' rooms in violation of rules and that a supervisor, understanding his intentions, turned a blind eye.
In a statement, the Turkish Presidency's Communication Centre Combatting Disinformation confirmed the Ministry of Family and Social Services was aware of the abuse claims and immediately filed a criminal complaint despite no official notification. However, the Centre did not disclose that this process had concluded with a "no grounds for prosecution" decision, leaving the public unaware of the case's dismissal until the recent investigative report.
Photo: Manus AI