A Turkish woman married her boyfriend, who threw acid in her face back in 2019. Berfin Ozek, 20, had almost lost her eyesight and was left with a significantly disfigured face after her then ex-boyfriend, Casim Ozan Celtik, 23, threw acid in her face when their relationship ended, out of rage. Before the attack, Celtik allegedly told Ozek that 'if he couldn't have her, nobody could.'
Ozek, although gravely injured, survived the attack and revealed the identity of her attacker which led to Celtik's arrest. It was after being jailed that Celtik reportedly started sending her messages of love and apology. He begged Ozek to forgive him. At one point, she briefly considered withdrawing her complaint.
Ozek noted that she was not comfortable with Celtik being between four walls. "We have written many letters to each other. I have given myself to him. I love him very much, he loves me very much," she wrote. Despite facing severe criticism, Ozek later noted that she realized she was wrong and asked her lawyer to withdraw her complaint.
The woman was left with 30 percent vision in one of her eyes
Celtik was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison for the said attack by a court in the district of Iskenderun in the Turkish province of Hatay. However, a change in the law along with COVID rules let him out of jail on probation. His release was met with severe uproar amongst the public and on social media. People complained about the leniency in Celtik's prison sentence considering that Ozek was left with only 30 percent vision in one of her eyes after the attack.
The woman's parents were not aware of the wedding
After Celtik was released, he proposed to Ozek and she accepted his proposal. A wedding date was set afterward and Ozek married her attacker in a formal wedding ceremony earlier this month. Ozek's father spoke about the wedding and noted that she married without his knowledge. " I've fought for her for years, and now all of this has been in vain," he said.
'The attacker's release has nothing to do with his marriage'
Lawyer Ramazan Erdogan informed that considering the period of his imprisonment, Celtik was entitled to an open prison after completing the time he had to spend in a closed prison. Due to the pandemic, however, convicts are considered released from open prisons until 31st May 2022. "The defendant's [Celtik] release has nothing to do with his marriage to Berfin. The decision is final. If it were not for the pandemic, he would have continued to serve his sentence in an open prison," the lawyer said. The couple has commented on the criticism they're facing in their marriage.
