MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Sêrt - While women in Turkey are subjected to violence, femicide, harassment, and rape, the judiciary encourages men with impunity by not doing its duty. Thousands of women have been killed in the last 20 years due to the government's policies and Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, which protects women from all kinds of violence. Women are also subjected to violence by law enforcement officers. A woman named E.A., reportedly a massager, claimed that she was tortured for hours by three persons, including a specialized sergeant, on July 16.

Raid, torture and theft

E.A. claimed that the three persons also stole her money, “I am a massager having a certificate and I have worked for the same massage parlor for more than five years. The specialized sergeant O. T. called me at 17:00 and asked for an appointment for a massage. I told him I couldn’t give an appointment after 20:00. But he came to the massage parlor at 8 pm. I had to take him in. He looked around when he entered the parlor and took my bag and mobile phone from the sofa. While I asked him what he was doing, he punched me. Then, he opened the door and R.B. and C.A., who pressured and threatened me to sell drugs for nearly 20 days, entered in the parlor. ‘Did you think you can get rid of me that easily? R.B. told me and pulled my hair,” E.A. said.

“The specialized sergeant hit in my head with his gun”

E.A. claimed that the three persons stole her money and threatened her, “Meanwhile, the specialized sergeant hit in my head with his gun. I received a health report showing that. R.B. brings drugs from Van and has a criminal record. They took my money in my bag and told me, ‘The money is ours.’  The specialized sergeant demanded 2,000 TL from me. I told them I could ask for money from one of my friends if they gave me my mobile phone back. They gave it to me. I called the police instead of calling my friend.”

She filed a criminal complaint but no one detained

After calling police, police arrived at the scene and saved her. E.A. filed a criminal complaint against the three persons but they weren’t detained despite her complaint. “I was subjected to torture and threat for more than one hour. I filed a criminal complaint against them but they weren’t detained and no investigation has been opened against them yet. I wrote what I had faced on my social media account. Female lawyers have supported me after they saw my post,” E.A. said.

“My life is in danger”

After the incident, the three persons threatened her and her family. “My life is in danger,” E.A. said, “They have threatened my family members and friends.”

Lawyers of Siirt Bar Association: We will follow the case

We spoke to the lawyers of the Siirt Bar Association about the incident. “We will demand the sexual assault be added in the file of the case. There are the statements of the battered woman and a health report showing that the woman was subjected to violence in the file. When a lawsuit is opened, we will demand to be one of the parties of the trial,” the lawyers said they would follow the case.