Police officer accuses women seeking justice for femicides of 'scratching' his neck

Sibel Yükler ANKARA, Turkey - Fifteen women and several LGBTI+ activists are currently standing trial for their involvement in a protest against femicides on charges of "violating the law on protest marches and demonstrations." During the hearing held today (20 June) at the Ankara 66th Criminal Court of First Instance, three riot police officers were also present, alleging that the protesters had attacked them. In the course of the demonstration, participants were accused of chanting slogans such as "Femicides are political" and "Prosecute the murderers, not the women." They were also charged with carrying a banner with the inscription "We will not be the unidentified murderers of the male state" adorned with LGBTI+ flags. Throughout the trial, the accused denied the charges brought against them. Instead, they highlighted their ordeal, stating they suffered police brutality before they could even reach the demonstration site, leading to over five hours in detention. All defendants shared stories of encirclement by riot police officers, alleging they were assaulted both on-site and inside the detention vehicle. "We were slammed against the glass, beaten, and our arms were nearly broken. We are said to have beaten [the police] with shields. We only held the shields to protect ourselves from police brutality," they said. The defendants stressed their call for justice for the murdered women and expressed their indignation at the ongoing trial. "The very fact that we have to stand here and make this statement is an oppression. It is not the women but the killers who should be put on trial," they argued, requesting acquittal. Their attorneys maintained that none of the three charges leveled against the defendants were substantiated either materially or morally. The attorneys pointed out that no illegal gathering took place and that there was no refusal to disperse upon warning. They also claimed that no assault against the police occurred, demanding acquittal on all charges. Attorney Döndü Kurşunoğlu drew attention to the grim statistic of 423 women being murdered in Turkey in 2021. She highlighted the irony of her clients, who protested against femicides, being subjected to brutality and detention. Kurşunoğlu presented the court with a detention record they had prepared. She pointed out that two of the police officers lacked medical reports of being assaulted and the one who did, could not identify who attacked him. In contrast, the attorney pointed out that her clients had reports proving they were victims of torture. As part of her defense, Kurşunoğlu introduced to the court the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Oya Ataman case, where Turkey was found in violation of human rights. She used this ruling to argue that the Ankara Police Department should be the entity on trial. One of the complaining riot police officers, identified as A.K., stated, "I had submitted my assault report to the security department. Two people scratched my neck over the shield. I filed a complaint." Police officer M.K. reiterated his previous statements, but could not identify who injured him. Meanwhile, Police officer H.A. claimed that one of the women punched him in the right eye. In response, Attorney Döndü Kurşunoğlu addressed Officer A.K., saying, "Do you receive orders to lower and raise the shields or to beat [people] with the shields? I remember you. You were torturing my clients." The case has been postponed to September 14 for further defenses to be heard. In the indictment, the prosecutor, Ramazan Hançer, claimed that the women, despite being harassed and assaulted by the police, were not interested in a press statement but violence.