And they aren't wrong!

In Istanbul's Beylikdüzü district, a woman was stabbed in the middle of the street by her husband, from whom she was in the process of divorcing. The moment was recorded second by second by a citizen on their mobile phone. The footage, which horrified everyone who watched it, quickly became a trend on social media. According to the footage, the fact that the citizens who gathered during the stabbing did not react was criticized both by the woman recording it on her phone and on social media. So, should one intervene in such a situation or not? 

Şeyda Nur Bulut met with her husband, Murat Bulut, from whom she was in the process of divorcing, in Küçükçekmece. Later, they came to Beylikdüzü together. While walking on the street, an argument broke out between them regarding the divorce. Upon this, Murat Bulut pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed the mother of three multiple times. Those moments of horror were recorded second by second on mobile phones. A citizen on a balcony could be heard pleading, "Don't do it, friend, don't do it; leave it to God."

While Murat Bulut, who was stabbing his wife, shouted at the citizen pleading with him, "She brought my children and is abusing them. Our 3 children. She was a woman who wore a headscarf," the citizen shouted, "Don't do it, friend, don't do it. My friend. Leave it to God, don't do it. You are right. Step back, please step back. For the sake of God, step back." Meanwhile, the woman filming the scene said, "What kind of person are you? Someone, grab him. Not a single soul is grabbing him or doing anything," while simultaneously describing the address to the person she was calling on 112.

At the end of the video, Murat Bulut stabs his wife, who is lying on the ground covered in blood, once more before fleeing the scene. Bulut, who was taken into custody by the Beylikdüzü District Police Department teams, was arrested and sent to prison. The treatment of the severely injured Şeyda Nur Bulut continues.

The footage we watched with horror and the fact that no one intervened were criticized on social media. Naturally, this debate brought to mind the Kadir Şeker incident that took place in Konya in 2020.

On February 5, 2020, Kadir Şeker, who wanted to stop Özgür Duran, who was alleged to be beating Ayşe Dırla, killed Duran by stabbing him in the heart during the ensuing scuffle. After the incident, Kadir Şeker was arrested and sent to prison. The arrest of Kadir Şeker caused a reaction from many segments of society. One could say that every other person was reacting by asking, "Why is he being arrested?"

Ever since the Kadir Şeker incident, we have settled for watching rather than intervening in stabbings and violence in the middle of the street, just like in the case of Şeyda Nur Bulut. Now I ask: If you had witnessed the incident, would you have intervened? Wouldn't it have been the right thing to call the police immediately? The citizens watching in Beylikdüzü did call the police instead of intervening. And they aren't wrong for not intervening.