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News Center- Nagihan Akarsel, journalist, academic, member of Jineology Academy and editor-in-chief of Jineology Magazine, was shot dead in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on October 3,2022. The murderer was arrested at the last PUK-controlled security checkpoint at the exit of the city of Sulaymaniyah while trying to escape to Erbil. On December 24, 2023, the murderer, a Turkish citizen named İsmail Rasim Rifat Peker, was sentenced to death by the Court of Cassation of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. However, neither the public opinion nor Nagihan Akarsel's family were informed about the investigation or the court proceedings.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Sarah Marcha, member of the International Justice Initiative for Nagihan Akarsel and the Jineology Research Center in Brussels, commented on the legal process of the murder of Nagihan Akarsel.

“At a time when the ‘Jin jiyan azadî’ protests that started in Rojhilat Kurdistan, Nagihan Akarsel was targeted by the Türkiye’s state intelligence agency,” Sarah Marcha said. “We know very well that pioneering women, particularly Kurdish women who have developed themselves with the ‘jin jiyan azadî’ philosophy developed by leader Apo and Jineology, women’s science, have influenced women all around the world. Therefore, the Turkish state and male-dominated powers and states do not want the women's revolution to develop and spread. The murder of Nagihan Akarsel was planned and committed to prevent the women’s revolution.”

‘The murderer was assigned by the Turkish state’

Speaking about the International Justice Initiative for Nagihan Akarsel, she said, “The initiative was established to demand justice for the killings of pioneering women, especially Kurdish women, who fight for the freedom of the Kurdish people. The policies of the Turkish state and the occupying forces pave the way for femicide all around the world. This initiative was established by hundreds of women and many organizations to fight femicide. The initiative has called on international organizations to take action in order to ensure justice for Nagihan Akarsel. The murderer of Nagihan Akarsel was assigned by the Turkish state, its National Intelligence Organization (MIT). As an initiative, we demand the people and organizations behind this dirty plan be brought to justice.”

Sarah Marcha also recalled that the initiative had had a press conference last year and said, “We held a press conference about the murder case of Nahigan Akarsel. The murderer of Nagihan Akarsel stood trial in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We know very well who assigned the murderer; at the court, the murderer also said that he had been assigned by the Turkish state to kill Nagihan Akarsel. Despite that, no legal proceeding has been started against the Turkish state. In addition, the trial was a closed trial. For that reason, we cannot say that justice has been served.”

‘We must prevent such dirty plans’

The Turkish state has planned to kill all pioneering Kurdish women, Sarah Marcha said, recalling the killings of Kurdish women in North and East Syria, in Southern Kurdistan, in Europe and in Paris.

“As women, we must prevent such dirty plans. Undoubtedly, Kurdish women are pioneering women for women all around the world. Not only Kurdish women but also all women struggling for women’s rights are targeted by the occupying and patriarchal forces and states.” Speaking about the murder case of Nagihan Akarsel, she said, “This case has become the case of all women. Throughout history, many women have been killed for demanding freedom and their rights. Women keep resisting although they are targeted by the patriarchal mindset.”

‘Women should raise their voices more’

States do not want women to revolutionize, Sarah Marcha stressed. “All legal and bureaucratic systems of the states are also formed to prevent women and people from getting their rights. Women should raise their voices more, become more active and show their stance against the patriarchal mindset in Kurdistan and all over the world. The initiative shares all information about this case with the public opinion. We also aim to reveal the murders of pioneering women in Kurdistan and all over the world. We say those who target pioneering women should not go unpunished.”

International organizations have been founded by both governments and civil society to defend human rights and women’s rights, Sarah Marcha emphasized. “Although the Turkish state is a member of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, these organizations remain silent against the crimes committed by the Turkish state.”

‘Neither the public opinion nor Nagihan Akarsel's family were informed’

“Neither the public opinion nor Nagihan Akarsel's family were informed about the investigation or the court proceedings,” Sarah Marcha stressed. “As we know, İsmail Rasim Rifat Peker,was sentenced to death by the Court of Cassation of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in December 2023. However, no legal step has been taken for those who assigned this person. The trial was a closed trial. The same thing was experienced in Paris. Therefore, we must fight for the real murderers to be brought to justice.”

Open letter to the UN and the Council of Europe

The initiative sent an open letter to the UN, the Council of Europe and the Iraqi government, demanding them to clarify the background of the murder of Nagihan Akarsel, to hold those responsible accountable, to take legal and political measures preventing further femicides and political murders. “As the initiative, we will hold online panels and participate in conferences and other international and national activities about the murdering of pioneering women, also known as political femicide.”

‘We must fight to bring the real murderers to justice’

Women lawyers make great efforts to bring the murder case to international courts, Sarah Marcha indicated. “We will see what steps will be taken. We call on all women lawyers, all women defending women's and human rights, women artists and academics to take a firm stance in order to achieve for comrade Nagihan and all pioneering women. We must fight to bring the real murderers to justice.”