A man who threatened to kill his ex-wife and daughter by sending them images of a recent femicide in Istanbul has been released under judicial supervision, once again raising alarm over Turkish authorities’ inaction on domestic violence and femicide.
According to reporting by the Diken news website, a man identified as T. Boztürk started threatening to kill his ex-wife and daughter via their social media accounts after the woman re-married. On May 6 he sent them images of the murder of Bahar Aksu, who was fatally shot by her ex-husband Monday morning while he was trying to drag her into his car with the help of two of his friends in Istanbul’s Şişli neighborhood.
“Be prepared, you are next,” Boztürk wrote in a note accompanying the pictures. His ex-wife and daughter immediately filed a complaint against Boztürk, who was detained by the police. However, he was released under judicial supervision and is now required to check in with the local police once a week.
In her statement to the police, the daughter said, “Since September of last year, my father has been sending threatening and insulting messages on my phone. He says he will kill my mother and me. His most recent message really disturbed me, and we decided to file a complaint. On May 6 my father sent a news story about a woman who was murdered in the street by her ex-husband, with a message saying we were next. He also repeatedly says in his messages that he will kill my mother and me. He posts things about us, shares photos of a cemetery and bullets.”
Rights advocates condemned Boztürk’s release as yet another example of the authorities’ lenient approach to violence against women.
“Another case of femicide is on its way. This is a scandalous decision,” news website Gerçek Gündem said on X.
According to women’s rights advocates despite women’s pleas for protection from gender-based violence, many perpetrators of violence and femicide are afforded impunity by the courts, which is deeply rooted in the country’s legal, cultural and political landscape and often obstructs justice for victims.
The Turkish judiciary has often handed down lenient sentences to perpetrators of femicide on grounds such as provocation.
Article 29 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) is often used to reduce sentences for men accused of such crimes on the grounds that the victim provoked the murderer with her actions.
Turkish courts are often accused of interpreting laws leniently in cases of gender-based violence. They also reduce sentences for men based on “good conduct” in the courtroom, which is at the discretion of the judge.
Women’s rights activists said the law should be amended because it does not clarify what exactly can be considered provocation. In a 2022 interview, lawyer Selin Nakıpoğlu from the Women’s Platform for Equality (ESIK) said by issuing reduced sentences based on provocation, the courts were saying victims deserved to be killed or hurt.
The smallest things such as verbal insults or wanting to separate can be considered provocation by the court. In one case a man was handed down a reduced sentence because he had high blood pressure that “caused him to lose control” during an argument with his wife.
Femicides and violence against women are serious problems in Turkey, where women are killed, raped or beaten every day. Many critics say the main reason behind the situation is the policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which protects violent and abusive men by granting them impunity.
Despite opposition from the international community and women’s rights groups, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a decree in March 2021 that pulled the country out of an international treaty that requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is an international accord designed to protect women’s rights and prevent domestic violence in societies and was opened to the signature of member countries of the Council of Europe in 2011.
