In a harrowing case of domestic violence, a Turkish man who threatened his wife and children with death told them he would “get away with murder” thanks to the impunity afforded by the courts to perpetrators of domestic violence, the Cumhuriyet daily reported.
In November 2024, 32-year-old Şiyar Alpaslan threatened his estranged wife, Fatma Alpaslan, via a video call. During the call, he held a kitchen knife to the throat of their 3-year-old son with their other child also in the room. Law enforcement was alerted while the mother watched the horrifying scene unfold on her phone.
The terrified mother told the police that her husband lived in İzmir with their two children. Officers from the Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women Bureau of the district police department quickly detained him. After interrogation, he was brought before a court and arrested.
In a recent statement to the media, Fatma Alpaslan said her husband believed he could kill with impunity. “How many women have been murdered? The state couldn’t protect them, and it won’t protect you, either,” he told her.
Fatma Alpaslan added that her husband was emboldened by a justice system she described as lenient toward perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide, allowing such crimes to escalate without consequence.
The case is currently being handled by a family court, but Fatma Alpaslan believes it should be transferred to a criminal court for proper prosecution.
The issue of impunity for violence against women in Turkey is deeply rooted in the country’s legal, cultural and political landscape, which often obstructs justice for victims.
Critics say the policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government are a major factor, accusing it of protecting violent and abusive men by granting them impunity. Turkish courts have faced repeated criticism for issuing lenient sentences to offenders, often claiming that crimes were “motivated by passion” or interpreting victims’ silence as consent.
A cultural emphasis on preserving traditional family values often takes precedence over individual rights, leading to policies that prioritize family unity over women’s safety. This climate, compounded by Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention, has signaled a de-prioritization of efforts to combat gender-based violence and emboldened perpetrators, according to rights groups.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has maintained that the withdrawal “has not had the slightest negative impact on women’s rights,” even as incidents of violence have continued to rise.
A 2022 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report criticized Turkey’s approach to addressing violence against women, pointing out that the government frames the issue in paternalistic terms, seeing women as needing protection rather than promoting gender equality. Emma Sinclair-Webb of HRW noted that this approach undermines efforts to effectively combat gender-based violence. According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP), at least 394 women were killed by men in 2024.
