Four women arrested during protest against rape in Istanbul

Four women have been arrested in Istanbul who wanted to make a statement on the death of Ipek Er. The 18-year-old woman committed suicide after being raped for weeks by Turkish sergeant Musa Orhan.

Activists of the initiative "Women's Liberation" (Turkish: Kadınların Kurtuluşu) protested against patriarchal violence on Taksim Square in Istanbul. The occasion was the death of Ipek Er in the Kurdish province of Batman. The 18-year-old had committed suicide after being held and raped for weeks by Turkish sergeant Musa Orhan.

The activists showed a banner saying "Ipek's killer is the patriarchal system" and said: "We continue to fight at all levels against the patriarchal justice system, which released Musa Orhan before Ipek's death and arrested him only after strong protests in the social media. Especially in Kurdistan, attacks on women are carried out by the state. We all know that the crimes of the security forces and officials are being covered up. The state does not touch rapists and wife-killers. It attacks the women who demand account in the streets.”

Before the women could finish their statement, they were attacked by the police. Activists Başak Yeşilot, Gamze Taşçı, Berivan Kurt and Burcugül Çubuk were arrested by force.

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