Twenty seven women involved in the protest demonstration against the AKP government’s anti-abortion bill in Ankara on 1 June have been sued on the grounds of “opposing to the law on meetings and demonstrations” and “injuring policemen”.

81 years imprisonment is asked for 27 women who were subjected to severe police attack and taken into custody during the Ankara demonstration. The accused women, members of Öðrenci Kollektifleri (Students’ Collective) and Halkevleri were also complained against by nine police officers claiming to have been hit by women at the demonstration.

The first trial of the case will be held at Ankara 5th Criminal Court of first Instance.

In an interview to NTV one day ago, Minister of Health Recep Akdað said that the new bill on abortion, which proposes restriction and ban on both abortion and cesarean section, is “to handle the issue of reproductive health from all its aspects”.

A woman should be provided with secure abortion until a certain period but abortion should never be used as an often applied method of planning, said the Minister.

The ban of abortion has been a subject of intense discussions and debates since the statements of Prime Minister Erdoðan who compared abortion with Uludere massacre in June.