Women from KDK detained while gathering at the courthouse for Bahar Aksu! 'Ali Yerlikaya' signs deemed criminal

The Women's Solidarity Committees (KDK) gathered in front of the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan for 34-year-old Bahar Aksu, who was abducted by her ex-husband Rüstem Elibol and three others in Istanbul's Şişli district, and was shot and killed while resisting being forced into a car.

'WE ARE ON THE HEELS OF THE HIDDEN PERPETRATORS TOO'

During the KDK protest held before the hearing at the 4th High Criminal Court, a banner reading "Down with your order, long live women" was unfurled. In the press statement, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya's remarks blaming murdered women were recalled, and it was stated, "We are here today to say that we are on the heels of the hidden perpetrators as well." 

The KDK statement included the following remarks:

"We know that if a woman is killed every day in a country despite protection orders, the only culprit and the only perpetrator is not just the one who pulled the trigger. We are here today to say that we are on the heels of the hidden perpetrators as well. So who is this hidden killer? The perpetrators. Despite protection orders—which are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain—the Interior Minister who says 'she shouldn't have opened the door' while women are being killed in the middle of the street. The state's primary duty is to protect the lives of its citizens. But the Interior Minister says, 'if women hadn't opened that door, they wouldn't have been killed.' Most of the women killed in 2024 were killed with firearms. Are these weapons sold in supermarkets, friends? We ask you."

DETENTIONS OF WOMEN!

Throughout the press statement, signs bearing the phrase "you are guilty," directed at officials who failed to fulfill their duties and responsibilities, particularly the Interior Minister, were used. Upon the prosecutor's instruction, police intervened on the grounds that the signs constituted a criminal element, and 2 KDK members were detained.

'WE WILL CONTINUE TO SHOUT IT TO YOUR FACES'

Following the detentions, KDK representative Senem Doruk İnam stated, "Instead of detaining those who tell you that you are guilty, ensure that women do not die in this country. Try to stop us, detain us, or ban us as much as you want. As long as women continue to die, we will continue to shout to your faces that you are guilty. You will be held accountable. Release our friends immediately."

Senem Doruk İnam's statement is as follows:

"They killed Bahar Aksu in the middle of the street in Şişli, walking away freely despite there being a protection order. Today, as the Women's Solidarity Committees, we gathered in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse to tell both those who kill women and those who do not protect them that you are guilty in the Bahar Aksu case. We said that state officials who are obligated to protect Bahar but failed to do so are as responsible as those who killed her. 

While we were making our statement, the "you are guilty" sign we carried for Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who bears responsibility for femicides, was shown as "caught in the act" by the police, and proceedings were initiated. Two of our friends were detained on this basis. Calling a culprit a culprit is not a crime, and it cannot be. 

Those who turn a blind eye to women being killed despite protection and restraining orders, and who allow them to be shot with guns in the middle of the street, are guilty; you are the guilty one, Ali Yerlikaya. If you do not want to be complicit in the crime, instead of holding women responsible for their own deaths, take measures to ensure that women with protection orders are not killed, and take steps to prevent individual armament. 

Instead of detaining those who tell you that you are guilty, ensure that women do not die in this country. Try to stop us, detain us, or ban us as much as you want. As long as women continue to die, we will continue to shout to your faces that you are guilty. You will be held accountable. Release our friends immediately."