Spouse charged over HIV non-disclosure in Istanbul
In a landmark legal case, a spouse is facing charges of “attempted murder” in Istanbul due to concealing his HIV-positive status over the course of the marriage.
Identified only by the initials, E.K., the spouse underwent two tests at separate hospitals and tested positive for HIV. After starting the treatment process, E.K. married K.K. on Feb. 26 last year, approximately two months after receiving the first HIV-positive result. Prior to the marriage, E.K. filed the health report that was required as part of the marriage proceedings later than his then fiancée, claiming to be preoccupied with his job, thus concealing his illness.
When his spouse noticed E.K. taking medicine during the course of the marriage, he assured her that he had no significant disease and was only taking it to treat an infection. However, one and a half months into their marriage, K.K. discovered the medication bottles of her husband and a note reading that E.K. was deemed suitable for Hepatitis B vaccination.
Following the disclosure, E.K. denied his HIV status once again, claiming that his friend placed the medicine in his pocket. Despite the claims, the couple got tested for HIV, which resulted in K.K. discovering that her husband had HIV.
The forensic report noted that the HIV virus is not considered to be transmitted if the results of the 4th generation antigen/antibody tests conducted four weeks following the initial test are negative, adding that the HIV test result for the victim K.K. was negative. Nevertheless, K.K. filed a case asserting that E.K. had committed attempted deliberate murder and wounding by concealing his condition from her.
Meanwhile, E.K. claimed that he was unaware of HIV status in his testimony, despite two medical reports displaying his HIV-positive status prior to the marriage.
The high criminal court approved the indictment requesting for a term of 13 to 20 years in prison for the charge of “attempted deliberate murder against spouse” for E.K.
