Country throws out controversial child sex bill

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November 23, 2016 2:16 PM

A majority in parliament's justice commission voted to remove the proposed legislation from its agenda

Turkish women protest in Istanbul against a proposed bill that would overturn men's convictions for child sex assault if they married their victim

A Turkish parliamentary committee on Wednesday threw out a bill which could have overturned mens convictions for sexually assaulting a child, sealing the end of a controversy that led to a public outcry and protests.

A majority in parliament's justice commission voted to remove the proposed legislation from its agenda, the official Anadolu news agency said.

The government had removed the legislation from parliament on Tuesday but indicated it could still be reviewed by the commission and sent back to parliament.

The government was apparently keen to see the end of the uproar over the bill, which would have allowed the release from jail of sex assault convicts who did not act using "force, threat, or any other restriction on consent" and if they married the victims.

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