MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – In Turkey, violence against women cases increased significantly in 2022 compared to previous years. In the first 11 months of 2022, 330 women were killed by men and more died under suspicious circumstances. We witnessed how the judiciary system protected the men who killed women and used violence against women by applying “Unjust provocation” and reducing their sentences. In 2022, one of the slogans chanted by women, who took to the streets in Turkey, was, “We demand true justice, not men’s justice”.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Elif Tirenç İpek Ulaş, lawyer and board member of the Rosa Women’s Association, commented on the reflection of the impunity policy of the judiciary and the judgments protecting men in society.

‘The judiciary has become politicized’

Elif stated that the judiciary has been applying a policy of impunity in violence against women cases for years, but this situation has increased in the last year. “Impunity in judiciary is a policy that is now known and accepted by everyone. Before, courts thought twice before making decisions in violence against women and femicide cases. However, the judiciary has recently become politicized by applying the policy of impunity,” she told us.

‘Decisions are made in favor of men’

Cemal Metin Avcı, who murdered university student Pınar Gültekin in July 2020, was first demanded aggravated life imprisonment; however, his sentence was reduced to 23 years by the court applying the unjust provocation reduction. Cihan Kayaalp, chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) headquarters in Diyarbakır, stood trial on charges of “sexually abusing a child”. However, he was acquitted of all charges against him. Elif Tirenç İpek Ulaş thinks the judiciary acquitting the perpetrators in order to give the message, “We stand by men”.

“This year, we saw how decisions are made in favor of men. In the murder case of Pınar Gültekin, the court discussed the life of Pınar Gültekin in order to find a reason to apply the unjust provocation. Cihan Kayaalp is one of the perpetrators awarded with impunity. He sexually abused a child but he was acquitted of all charges against him during the second hearing of the trial. Many sexual abuse cases were revealed in Turkey last year,” Elif Tirenç İpek Ulaş told NuJINHA.

‘Court decisions encourage men’

Underling that the court decisions increase violence against women and femicide cases, Elif Tirenç İpek Ulaş said, “The impunity policy of the judiciary has seriously affected the increase in violence against women cases because men think ‘I will be released after serving three or five months in prison if I say I kill her to protect my honor’. The court decisions encourage men to commit crimes against women.”

‘Perpetrators are arrested when incidents spark anger in the public’

Speaking about the case of H.G.K., who was forced into child marriage and raped when she was only six years old, Elif Tirenç İpek Ulaş said, “She was forced into marriage when she was six years old. She was subjected to sexual assault for years. Although this incident was known for two years, no step was taken by the judiciary. The perpetrator was arrested when the incident sparked anger in the public.”

‘The judiciary makes decisions according to the government’

 Elif Tirenç İpek Ulaş stated that the judiciary, which does not make decisions in favor of women and children, has become politicized and a tool in Turkey. “Law is not a system that stands by justice. Law is a system that the government uses to maintain its power as a tool that it shapes according to itself. Today, we see that all states of law do this. Since the judiciary has no intention to prevent femicide and violence against women, it is used as a tool to apply impunity. Today, the judiciary has been used as a tool by the government in Turkey. The judiciary has become politicized.”