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Murder of Özgecan Aslan

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Özgecan Aslan
Born(1995-10-22)22 October 1995
Mersin, Turkey
Died11 February 2015(2015-02-11) (aged 19)
near Tarsus, Turkey
Cause of deathStabbing and beating
Body discoverednear Çamalan, Tarsus, Turkey
Resting placeTarsus, Turkey
OccupationStudent
Known forVictim of murder and attempted rape

Özgecan Aslan (22 October 1995[1] – 11 February 2015) was a Turkish university student who was murdered as she resisted a rape attempt[2] on 11 February 2015 on a minibus in Mersin. Her burnt body was discovered on 13 February, with the murder allegedly being committed by the minibus driver and his two accomplices.

The murder caused nationwide outrage and sparked protests across the country on the following days.[3] Thousands of protesters took to the streets in several provinces, with some criticizing the government for its "insufficient response" and alleged normalization of the rape of non-conservative women. It also provoked calls for reforms to combat violence against women more effectively. The case received great attention on social media and prompted women to share their experiences of harassment, with February 16 being dubbed as "Black Monday" due to protests.

Background

Özgecan was born into a poor Alevi family, who traced their origins to Dersim.[4] She was a first-year psychology student in the Çağ University in Tarsus. She was born and raised in Mersin, and wanted to study psychology. Her parents were supportive of her, with her mother returning to the workforce in order to fund her education, despite the 50% scholarship she had earned. She was planning to work at a hotel in Northern Cyprus during the summer to help with her fees also.[1]

The alleged perpetrator's father, who is alleged to have assisted him, hailed from a wealthy family in Tarsus and was a jeweler. However, he went bankrupt and started to work with his son, who is 26, as a minibus driver. He had previous records of smuggling.[5] The alleged perpetrator's wife (married to him since five years before the murder) claimed that he had continuously inflicted violence on her, and that he had forced her to withdraw her suit for divorce a few months before the incident as he allegedly threatened to kill her and their son.[6]

A friend of Özgecan claimed that they had been afraid to use the minibuses in the area, and that the drivers and some passengers had stared at them through mirrors and windows whenever they left the bus several times before the incident.[7]

On the day of the murder, Özgecan went to a shopping center with her friend. After eating, the women took the minibus to return home. Özgecan was last seen by her friend, who exited the minibus, leaving Özgecan alone in the minibus.[8] As Özgecan did not return home after nightfall, she was reported missing. Meanwhile, the minibus driver stopped by a gendarme checkpoint to ask for directions, but instead of following the directions, diverted into a forest. The gendarme became suspicious and stopped the vehicle to find smears of blood, which the driver claimed had been caused by a fight between passengers. After a brief investigation, the suspects were released.[9] After Özgecan was reported missing, the gendarme started to look for the minibus again. It was captured with two of the suspects; Özgecan's hat (confirmed as hers by her father) was found inside. The two suspects subsequently admitted the murder, and the search for the third suspect began.[9]

According to news reports, the driver of the minibus attempted to rape Özgecan, but she resisted by using pepper spray.[10] Following this, he stabbed her multiple times,[11] and beat her to death with an iron rod. He returned to Tarsus following the murder and asked for help from his father and a friend. The three men burnt Özgecan's body together in a forest and cut off her hands, as Özgecan had scratched the perpetrator's face during the struggle, and they feared that his DNA would be identified on the fingernails. Further investigation will determine if she was raped.[5]

The trio is then alleged to have disposed of the burnt body into a creek near the village of Çamalan. The body was discovered by the police on February 13 and was transported to the Tarsus State Hospital. The body and Özgecan's face were burnt to the point that it rendered identification impossible; clothes found with the body were used in identification.[9]

Investigation and future trial

The minibus driver has confessed that he has committed the murder and that his father and friend helped him. According to the newspaper Hürriyet, he displayed a notably calm demeanor while he was questioned and answered questions in a cold-blooded manner.[12]

According to Turkish law, the defendant in such cases must have a lawyer for the criminal prosecution to begin. However, the 1,600 lawyers of the bar association of Mersin made a joint statement that none of them wanted to support such "brutal savages" in the court and refused to assign a lawyer. Two lawyers were present at the moment of questioning, but one of them was a relative of the suspects and the other was previously uninformed of the incident, and they both declined support later. This stalled the transfer of the suspects to the criminal prosecution.[13][14]

On 16 February, the minibus driver reportedly changed his testimony, saying that, while he did commit the murder, he was under the influence of alcohol when he did so and did not intend to assault Özgecan sexually or kill her. He also claimed that it was Özgecan who started the fight by attacking him while he tried to take her to the destination through a shorter way, and that he had gone to the back of the minibus in order to have a talk with her.[15]

Funeral and protests

Protests held after the murder of Özgecan Aslan in İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul

The case became a cause célèbre[16] in Turkey as a marker of the violence against women[2] and been compared to the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.[17] The brutality of the murder especially caused a public outcry, with thousands of protesters taking to the streets across Turkey.[3][18] In Istanbul, protesters, most of whom were women, gathered in the İstiklal Avenue and marched to the Taksim Square on 14 February, also condemning the alleged inaction of the government and lack of official condemnation,[19] with thousands further protesting in the Kadıköy district.[20] In Ankara, protests took place despite police intervention, as demonstrators occupied a central park.[10] Around a thousand protesters marched in İzmir, where almost all of them were women, who refused to let men join the protest.[19] Protests also took place in Tarsus, Mersin, Adana, Bodrum, Eskişehir, Balıkesir, Batman,[19] Samsun, Antalya and Tunceli, among other cities. Further protests took place in Istanbul on 15 February.[21][22] 1500 students marched in Gaziantep.[23] The number of protesters in Mersin were reported to be around 3000;[24] a man reportedly harassed and attacked the women in the protests, causing a fight.[25] In Trabzon, while a group of 700 women were protesting the murder, a drunk man shouted that "the murder [was] well-deserved for Özgecan", causing a commotion.[26] Members of a group of 50 women who hung banners in the Taksim Square, Istanbul, were arrested by the police.[27] Claims of the courts having sympathies for perpetrators of violence against women and thus issuing reduced sentences were highlighted during the protests.[2] The current conservative government has also been accused of creating an "Islamic atmosphere", in which non-conservative women are seen as deserving violence.[3] According to CBC News, the motivation of the protesters is to show that "female lives are not disposable in Turkey".[28] Hürriyet reported that the protests had simultaneously united and divided Turkey.[29]

In Tarsus, a mob tried to lynch the suspects as they were arrested by the police.[30] The funeral of Özgecan was attended by around 5000 people and women defied the imam in the funeral by attending the prayer together with the men and carrying the coffin of Özgecan, against the religious tradition.[8][28]

On 15 February, around 500 people marched in Sivas[31] and a group of Turkish people protested in Trafalgar Square in London.[32] Further protests took place on 16 February in Kastamonu,[33] Karabük, Kuşadası, Salihli, Burdur, Kırşehir,[34] Bilecik, Denizli, Merzifon, Bitlis, Sivas,[35] the Istanbul University[36] and the Giresun University, where the university administration organized the protest, and the protesters held banners saying "we are all Özgecan".[37] In Mersin, a crowd gathered again for protests, and the police supported the demonstrators by distributing Aslan's pictures and chanting using megaphones.[38]

On 17 February, protests continued both in Turkey and abroad. Northern Cyprus saw protests as around 100 protesters, among whom were members of the parliament, held a symbolic funeral prayer and marched through the streets of the capital, North Nicosia with a coffin.[39] Protests also took place in Kyrenia.[40] In Germany, around 200 people demonstrated on the Hauptwache square in Frankfurt, with further protests taking place in Berlin[41] and Hamburg.[42] In Turkey, workers demonstrated in İzmir[43] policewomen in Iğdır,[44] graduates and students of religious schools in Erzurum.[45] Around 1000 people marched in Diyarbakır,[46] with more protests taking place in Muş,[47] Varto,[48] Hakkari,[49] Şanlıurfa[50] and universities in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Edirne, Çanakkale, Zonguldak, Adana, Antalya, Eskişehir, Muğla and Mersin.[51]

Political response

The government response has been criticized by many Turks as "too little, too late".[29] Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu condemned the attack and announced that this would prompt a widespread campaign against violence against women. He also announced that a youth center in Antalya would be named after Özgecan.[52] Özgecan's university also decided to name a newly built psychology lab after her.[53] The Turkish Council of Ministers discussed the murder of Özgecan, but declined to condone a possible reintroduction of the death penalty for such offenses, as it had been proposed by some.[54] President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also offered his condolences to the family of Özgecan. He later criticized the protesters, claiming that some of them had danced during the protests, committing a cultural offense due to their non-conformity to religious norms.[55] On 17 February, he further criticized the women's rights movement in Turkey, saying that they had criticized him when he said that "women are entrusted to men by God", a supposition that was proved by the incident.[56]

Ayşenur İslam, the Minister of Family and Social Affairs, who visited Özgecan's family, met with protests during a press statement.[57] Members of the parliament from the Republican People's Party, the main opposition in Turkey, left the parliament when she was delivering a speech about the murder.[58]

Derviş Eroğlu, the president of Northern Cyprus, called Özgecan's family to send his condolences.[59] The American Embassy in Ankara posted a tweet condemning the murder.[60]

Social media

The murder sparked widespread outrage on social media, with the hashtag "#sendeanlat" ("you must also tell") becoming the most popular in the country, encouraging women to tell their own stories of harassment and everyday fears in Turkey. The campaign was also supported by popular figures in the country, including the actress Beren Saat, who wrote a lengthy account of her experiences of harassment.[22][61] 16 February was dubbed as "Black Monday" in Turkey, with many citizens, including celebrities, wearing black to raise awareness about violence against women, in accordance with the popular hashtag "#Özgecaniçinsiyahgiy" ("wear black for Özgecan").[62] An online petition demanding more responsible decisions from institutions in cases like Özgecan's gathered more than 600,000 signatures in two days.[63] The murder caused widespread fear among women in Tarsus, some of whom stated that they would never use the minibus again and opt for trains as much as possible instead.[7]

The responses to the murder by numerous individuals and institutions, such as singer Nihat Doğan and the newspaper Yeni Akit were met with widespread condemnation outrage after being perceived to have defended rape on the grounds that mini-skirts provoked it. In a tweet deleted shortly after by Doğan, he claimed that the secular system has "corrupted" individuals and that women should not call out if they were being abused by such individuals and wearing a mini-skirt at the same time.[64] The tweet resulted in him being withdrawn from the cast of the TV show Survivor, his manager cutting all business ties and his suspension from the Galatasaray sports club. Doğan eventually made a live apology on Beyaz TV.[65][66][67] A group of lawyers filed a criminal complaint against Doğan in İzmir.[68] The Conservative newspaper Yeni Akit blamed the murder on a 'western lifestyle' and referred to the comments of pro-women's rights journalists such as Uğur Dündar as the main cause.[69] Numerous tweets that appeared to condone the murder on religious grounds, including the claim that Özgecan was an Alevi Muslim also drew criticism.[70]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c "Brutal slaying leads to protests over violence against women in Turkey". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Turkey rallies over murder of woman who 'resisted rape'". BBC News. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  4. ^ Solgun, Cafer (16 February 2015). "Can you look into the eyes of Özgecan?". Todays Zaman. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Özgecan Aslan cinayetinde kan donduran detaylar!". Milliyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  54. ^ "Başbakan Ahmet Davutoğlu konuştu" (in Turkish). Sabah. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
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  59. ^ "Eroğlu, Özgecan'ın babasını arayarak başsağlığı diledi" (in Turkish). Kıbrıs Postası. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
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  64. ^ "Nihat Doğan'a tepki yağıyor". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  65. ^ "Nihat Doğan'ı menajeri de terk etti". Radikal (in Turkish). 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
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  69. ^ "Akit: Batılı yaşam tarzı ölüm ve tecavüz getirdi!". t24 (in Turkish). 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  70. ^ "Özgecan için utandıran tweet'ler". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
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