MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Agiri – In May 2020, Pakize Öztaş (23), mother of two, died suspiciously after arguing with her husband Abdulkadir Öztaş in the Aşağı Kara Halit (Qerexalita Jêrê) village of Tutak district, Ağrı province. After the death of Pakize Öztaş, who had been reportedly subjected to violence by her husband for years, Abdulkadir Öztaş was taken into custody but released after two days in detention. The investigation launched into the incident hasn’t been completed although 19 months have passed. Pointing out that the criminals have been left unpunished for months while the investigation has been kept confidential, Pakize Öztaş’s mother Jiyan Başbuğa told us that she hasn’t been allowed to see her grandchildren since the incident took place. “If there were justice, my daughter would not die, if there were justice, we wouldn't face these,” Jiyan Başbuğa said.

“She had been constantly subjected to insults and violence”

Indicating that her daughter had been constantly subjected to insults and violence during her marriage, Jiyan Başboğa, stated that there are many doubts about her daughter's death. “She couldn’t kill herself because she had two children (One is two, other is five years old).  My daughter was cleaning the house for Ramadan Feast on the day she died. She wanted to buy cleaning materials but her husband battered her. After battering her, he forcibly took her home. Her sister-in-law saw that but she couldn’t enter the house because she was scared. After battering my daughter at home, he heft house with my youngest grandchild. He locked the door. One hour later, he returned home. He called the neighbors and said my daughter had killed herself. When the neighbors entered the house, they found my daughter lying on the bed.”

“He always threatened her with death”

Underlining that her daughter had resisted although she had been subjected to violence for months, Jiyan Başboğa said that her daughter’s husband had claimed that her daughter was “mad”. “He had always threatened my daughter with death. She had resisted despite everything. My daughter wasn’t mad and she didn’t kill herself. I haven’t been allowed to see my grandchildren since the incident took place.”

“I demand justice”

Demanding that the criminals should be immediately punished, Jiyan Başboğa said, “My daughter would never leave her children. He had battered my daughter many times. My daughter hadn’t been able to call us because she had been afraid of her husband. The criminals walk free. The killers shouldn’t go unpunished. I demand justice for my daughter.”