ÇİÇEK TAHAOĞLU
The court ruled to dismiss the trial against the Platform to Stop Femicide. The fourth hearing of the closure case against the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP) was held today at Istanbul 13th Civil Court of First Instance.
The case was filed based on the claim that the association neglected the concept of family while pretending to protect women's rights, resulting in the breakdown of the family structure. The prosecutor demanded the association be disbanded because it conducted actions against the law and morality.
Families testified: "It should be supported, not shut down"
Several families supported by the platform were in the courtroom. All the families who testified as witnesses said, “We want the platform to be supported, not shut down.” Gülsüm Kav, General Representative of We Will Stop Femicide Platform, and Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General, took the floor. Kav started her speech by saying, “There is such a legal course of events that I would like to invite logic,” and stated that the struggle for equality will continue no matter what the verdict of this hearing is.
Ataselim also said: “We call on the authorities to implement Law No. 6284 (Law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence against Woman) and the constitution so that women can live. Our association fights nationwide when the authorities fail to do their part. If they call the struggle to stop femicides 'immoral,' we will continue to pursue this immorality. The public's trust in the justice system is being shaken due to decisions made by the authorities.”
Lawyers: “We demand that you reject the closure request”
The association's lawyers Rukiye Leyla Süren, Esin Yeşilırmak, İpek Bozkurt, and Tuğba Torun, made their final statements on the merits. The lawyers stated that this file revealed that the association had been investigated since 2016. “There is a system that tries to intimidate these families by bringing them here. We demand that you reject this file, this closure request." Reminding that the association is regularly audited, the lawyers added that there were no law violations in the audit reports prepared by the governorate.
At the end of the hearing, the court rejected the closure case against the Platform to Stop Femicide.
Background
An investigation was initiated against the Platform to Stop Femicide Platform Association in response to a complaint lodged by a man claiming to be a victim of alimony at the Prime Ministry Communication Center (BIMER) in 2016.
In December 2021, Istanbul Public Prosecutor Mustafa Güner issued a one-and-a-half-page indictment, urging the dissolution of the association due to allegations of engaging in activities that contravene the law and morality. The indictment cited the Law on Associations, which restricts associations from conducting activities beyond the scope defined in their charters and imposes penalties, including imprisonment and fines, on association leaders who violate this provision. It contended that the association had operated outside its intended purpose, deeming its mission unlawful. However, no evidence was presented to substantiate these claims.
The hearings, commencing in June 2022, witnessed the presence of over 60 lawyers, numerous human rights advocates, families who lost daughters to male violence, and women who survived violence. Regrettably, the court dismissed the involvement of women's rights centers affiliated with the Istanbul, Gaziantep, Ankara, Eskişehir, İzmir, Diyarbakır, Kocaeli, Kırklareli, Adıyaman, and Tekirdağ bar associations, as well as the LGBTI+ Rights Center of the Ankara Bar Association, the Women and Children First Association, and 109 families who had lost their daughters to acts of violence.
About the Platform
We Will Stop Femicide Platform was founded in 2010 after the murder of Münevver Karabulut and became an association in 2012. The association, which continues its activities in 76 provinces of Turkey, monitors femicide cases in solidarity with the families of murdered women and organizes campaigns against violations of women's rights.
