Man Jailed For 5 Years For Fake Wedding

Married man Ahmet Çiftçi -- who said he used a fake wedding as a way of legitimizing a second woman's pregnancy -- has been sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of using a false identity document to marry 20-year-old H.T.

"We were in love with each other. H.T. said she was pregnant with my child. I knew I was married. To explain the situation to her family, she wanted me to find someone's identity. The aim of the wedding was to convince the family. Only H.T. knew my real identity," Çiftçi argued in his defense.

The panel of judges found Çiftçi guilty of "false use of official documents" and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Çiftçi reportedly has five children with his legal wife and met H.T. at a pharmacy. In order to marry the second woman, he borrowed the identity card of his friend İ.T. under the pretext of buying prescription drugs, after which he glued his own photograph onto the identity card and used it in the wedding.

Çiftçi was caught after the authorities at a local family health center called İ.T., as he was considered the legal spouse of H.T., to inform him that H.T. was seven months pregnant.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)