In July 2018, Onur Albayrak, a wedding photographer from Malatya in eastern Turkey, was hired to shoot a ceremony at Turgut Özal Nature Park. He had met the groom at his studio two weeks earlier, but hadn’t yet seen the bride.
When he arrived at the wedding, something immediately felt off.
The bride looked young. Too young. Albayrak asked the groom how old she was.
Fifteen, the groom told him.
Albayrak refused to continue. He said he wasn’t going to photograph a child bride, contract or no contract.
The groom wasn’t having it. He insisted Albayrak was bound by their contract to shoot the wedding. When Albayrak tried to leave anyway, the groom attacked him.
It didn’t go well for the groom. Albayrak defended himself and broke his nose in the fight. Then he left.
