Ayşe Çeçen was killed by her family members after she was raped by a specialist sergeant. Her father Mehmet Faruk Çeçen and three relatives have been acquitted of killing Ayşe by a court. Berfin Çeçen, sister of Ayşe Çeçen, reacted to the court decision and said, “My father is acquitted although he was the last person seen with my sister.” Şahmaran Women’s Platform in Mardin province underlined that they don’t recognize the verdict and that they will keep struggling until the perpetrators are punished.

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Mêrdîn – In 2013, the family of Ayşe Çeçen reported that she was missing in Kızıltepe district of Mardin province. Her dead body was found in 2019 in Qamishlo city of NE Syria by asayish members of the Autonomous Administration. Four persons were accused of killing 17-year-old Ayşe Çeçen. The final hearing of the trial was held yesterday by Mardin 5th High Criminal Court. Ayşe’s father Mehmet Faruk Çeçen, her uncles İdris Çeçen and İsmail Çeçen and her relative İdris Çeçen attended the hearing.

The perpetrators have been acquitted

Defendants refused the accusations while their lawyers claimed that Ayşe Çeçen may still alive because the body found by the Asayish forces in NE Syria hasn’t been identified as Ayşe Çeçen. The lawyers demanded their clients to be acquitted because Turkey hasn’t demanded the dead body to be brought from NE Syria. The court acquitted the defendants.

“Ayşe was not the first, will not be the last”

We contacted Berfin Çeçen, sister of Ayşe Çeçen, after the hearing, “The photographs show that the body is my sister’s body. My father reported my sister was missing and described what clothing she was wearing on the day she went missing. In the photographs, we can see the same clothes. And my father was the last person seen with my sister. Despite all of these, the perpetrators have been acquitted. My sister was not the first; she will not be the last. Our women and children will be killed without deterrent punishments,” Berfin told us.

“Male judiciary once again protects men”

Şahmaran Women’s Platform in Mardin issued a writing statement and said, “As Şahmaran Women’s Platform, we followed the hearings. The perpetrators have been acquitted while we expected they would be punished. The male judiciary shows once again how it protects men. Femicide is increasing day by day but the male judiciary keeps protecting men.”

What had happened?

In 2013, family members of 17-year-old Ayşe Çeçen reported that she was missing. But her dead body was found in 2019 in Qamishlo city of NE Syria by asayish members of the Autonomous Administration. The dead body was identified by the family. An investigation was opened in killing Ayşe Çeçen. And it was revealed that Ayşe’s father killed her daughter. Ayşe Çeçen was sent to a women’s shelter after being raped by a specialist sergeant named E.T. Then, her father took her from the women’s shelter. The reports say Ayşe was killed by her father and relatives.