Turkey's Charitable Exploitation: Women Speak Out Against a Charity Leader

Thu Oct 30 2025 05:30:40 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A Turkish charity owner, Sadettin Karagoz, has been arrested following serious allegations of sexual abuse against vulnerable women seeking aid. The recent BBC investigation uncovers a pattern of exploitation that highlights broader issues of safety and support for refugees.

Sadettin Karagoz, who runs a charity aimed at helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, was arrested after allegations emerged of sexual exploitation. Victims describe harrowing experiences where aid was offered in exchange for sexual favors. Despite his claims of innocence, multiple women have reported instances of harassment, raising crucial questions about power dynamics in humanitarian work and the safety of refugees.

A Turkish charity owner at the centre of sexual abuse allegations, brought to light by a BBC investigation, has been arrested.

BBC News Turkish revealed accusations that Sadettin Karagoz sexually exploited vulnerable women, promising them aid in return for sex. He denies all the allegations.

Mr. Karagoz set up his charity in Turkey's capital, Ankara, in 2014. Syrian refugees desperate for help said at first he seemed like an angel.

One of them, Madina, fled the Syrian civil war in 2016 and said that two years later, one of her children became critically ill and her husband abandoned her. Her name has been changed to protect her anonymity.

Left to care for three children alone, she went to Sadettin Karagoz's organisation, which translates as the Hope Charity Store. It gathers donations for refugees such as nappies, pasta, milk and clothes.

He told me: 'When you have nowhere to go, come to me and I will look after you, she says.

But when she did, Madina says he changed. She describes how Mr. Karagoz told her to go with him to an area in the office behind a curtain to get some supplies.

He grabbed me, she says. He started kissing me… I told him to get away from me. If I hadn't yelled, he would have tried to rape me.

Madina describes how she escaped from the building but Mr. Karagoz later went to her home.

I didn't open the door because I was terrified, she says, explaining that he threatened to have her sent back to Syria.

Scared of repercussions, Madina says she never went to the police and did not tell anyone else what had happened.

In all, three women, including Madina, told the BBC that Mr. Karagoz had sexually assaulted and harassed them. Seven other people, including two former employees of his charity, say they either witnessed or heard first-hand testimony of him committing acts of sexual abuse between 2016 and 2024.

According to 27-year-old Syrian refugee Nada, he said he would only give her aid if she went to an empty flat with him. If you don't, I won't give you anything, she says Mr. Karagoz told her. Again, her name has been changed to protect her anonymity.

She describes several instances of harassment, including attempts to touch her inappropriately. Afraid of the stigma attached to sexual abuse and scared she would be blamed, Nada says she didn't feel she could tell anyone, even her husband.

Another victim, Batoul, explained that she fled after being inappropriately touched as well. Her testimony joins others as part of a troubling narrative that brings to light patterns of exploitation faced by women in desperate situations.

These testimonies were not the first to surface against Mr. Karagoz. In 2019 and 2025 he was accused of sexual harassment and assault, but on both occasions, prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him. Police said neither victims nor witnesses were willing to come forward to make formal complaints.

The recent arrests have raised hopes that it will encourage more victims to come forward, as authorities investigate the claims further.

Batoul expressed relief and raised hopes that this case would not just affect her but all women who have suffered in silence. I am truly happy he has been arrested, for myself and for all the women who have suffered in silence and couldn't speak out because of fear, she stated.