Six women in illegal abortion cases in Cyprus confirmed to be from Turkey

KYRENIA

A Turkish woman buried her full-term fetus in a plot in Northern Cyprus, a prosecutor has revealed during a court hearing in Girne, in a case in which a total of 10 women, including six Turkish citizens, are suspected of illegally aborting fetuses over five months old, daily Habertürk reported on Nov. 1.

A case was opened in February 2015 after six fetuses, including a full-term fetus, were found buried in a field in Girne in Northern Cyprus. Six suspects, including the directors of Girne Ada Hospital, its head physician, a doctor, an obstetrician and a nurse, were later charged with being involved in illegal abortion activity. 

Prosecutor Erdinç Akyener said the mother of the eight-and-a-half-month old female fetus and the mothers of five over-10-week-old fetuses were from Turkey, while one woman was found in Cyprus.  

Forensic officials found that the eight-and-a-half-month old fetus was aborted after the mother underwent an anesthesia had a C-section for the abortion, Akyener said. The woman who had the abortion claimed that she had to do so because the baby died in her womb, which the prosecutor did not believe.
 
The prosecutor said they are currently looking for the five women involved in the abortions, and informed the Turkish Cypriot authorities that there were 10 women who were suspects. The suspects were found to have entered Northern Cyprus in 2014 and returned to Turkey a few days later. 
Akyener said the DNA of the suspects would be examined to detect if they matched with the fetuses, but the women refused to testify. 

He also said they could not request retrieval from Turkey, and the Istanbul Bakırköy Prosecutors’ Office has not filed a probe either. 

Akyener added that they would seek to prosecute the women involved in these illegal abortions, after the prosecutions of the current suspects reach a conclusion. 

None of the six suspects have yet pleaded guilty.