Turkish mothers plan appeal as judgment 'makes victims of innocent children'

Two Turkish mothers plan to file an appeal after being sentenced to prison for six months over forged travel documents, forcing them to be separated from their two small children. Their lawyer, Etienne Calleja, of Calleja & Associates Advocates, said their punishment did not fit the crime. “The crime committed is a victimless crime, and they themselves are victims and should not be targeted by the judicial system to make them victims once more,” Calleja told Times of Malta. Last week, Rabia Yavuz, 27, and Muzekka Deneri, 29, both teachers, admitted to using forged travel papers as they sought to avoid repatriation to Turkey, after having fled in the attempted coup d’etat of 2016. “Effective jail terms were not imposed even in much more serious cases of involuntary homicide, bigamy, usury or attempted grievous bodily harm,” Calleja, who is assisting for free, said. “In one case, two individuals with identical charges were not given a jail term. And it is important to note that in neither of these similar cases were minor children separated from their parents, so we are also saying that this judgment is also making victims of these innocent children.” The appeal calls for the...