Turkey begins child abuse trial that put spotlight on sects

ISTANBUL (AP) — The parents and husband of a woman who was forced into marriage when she was just six years old have gone on trial in Turkey on charges of child and sexual abuse, in a case that has shone a spotlight on Turkey’s religious sects. The woman — now aged 24 — had filed a complaint in 2020 against her mother, her father and the man she was forced into marrying as a child in a religious union. The defendants are members of a foundation linked to the influential Ismailaga religious group. The incident sparked public outrage and calls for greater scrutiny of Islamic sects which have become more prominent under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.