Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Islamic institutions and contexts Other Islamic authority or family context Akyazı, Sakarya, Turkey · 2021

Turkey: self-styled Uşşaki tarikat leader Fatih Nurullah convicted of child sexual abuse; sentence upheld through Court of Cassation

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

self-styled tarikat (Sufi order) leader

Organization

Uşşaki Tarikatı (self-styled)

Spiritual nexus

Şağban held himself out as the leader (şeyh) of a self-styled Sufi tarikat, using that claimed spiritual authority over followers' families to gain access to and abuse a 12-year-old child within the group's orbit.

  • Guru or spiritual-teacher authority
  • Threatened spiritual consequence

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2021-06-23 · first-instance verdict

    Sakarya Heavy Penal Court (criminal). Eyüp Fatih Şağban (known as Fatih Nurullah), self-declared leader of the Uşşaki tarikat, sentenced to 10 years 5 months for chain-structured child sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl; acquitted on a separate charge of unlawful deprivation of liberty for sexual purposes.

  2. Date in cited record · appeal — upheld

    Sakarya Regional Court of Appeal / Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), 9th Criminal Division. The 10-year-5-month sentence was confirmed by the Sakarya Regional Court of Appeal and subsequently upheld by the Court of Cassation's 9th Criminal Division, finalizing the conviction.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • spiritual hierarchy
  • claimed religious authority over followers

Primary record

Sources

Ekmek ve Gül, 'Uşşaki Tarikatı Lideri Eyyüp Fatih Şağban'a çocuk istismarından 10 yıl 5 ay hapis'. Available at: ekmekvegul.net (Accessed: 19 July 2026).

Turkish original: "Uşşaki Tarikatı'nın lideri Fatih Nurullah, 10 yıl beş ay hapis cezasına çarptırıldı ... Yargıtay 9. Ceza Dairesi, 'zincirleme şekilde çocuğun cinsel istismarı' suçundan verilen 10 yıl 5 aylık cezayı onadı." English gloss: Uşşaki tarikat leader Fatih Nurullah was sentenced to 10 years 5 months; the Court of Cassation's 9th Criminal Division upheld the 10-year-5-month sentence for 'chain-structured child sexual abuse.'

BirGün (2021) 'Tarikat liderine cinsel istismardan 10 yıl 5 ay hapis cezası'. Available at: birgun.net (Accessed: 19 July 2026).

Reports Şağban's arrest on 2020-08-28 in Akyazı district after audio recordings of his abuse of a 12-year-old girl, dated 2020-03-17, were made public, followed by his conviction and sentencing.

Related record

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