Feminicide: Man taken into custody for killing Pınar Gültekin

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Reported missing in Ula in Turkey's Aegean province of Muğla five days ago, 27-year-old university student Pınar Gültekin's deceased body has been found in the woods in the district of Menteşe.

As reported by daily Evrensel, the man named Cemal Metin A. has been detained in relation with her killing. The man reportedly first battered and knocked her unconscious, then strangled her to death.

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Cemal Metin A. took Gültekin to his country cottage in his car, saying that he wanted to talk to her. He then killed the woman in the cottage. As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), he confessed that he killed Gültekin, took her dead body to the woods in a barrel and buried her there.

'I killed her in a fit of rage'

As reported by Hürriyet, the detained suspect tried to blame the deceased woman for the murder, as is usually done by perpetrators of feminicides.

"I had an affair with Pınar, she was constantly threatening me with telling it to my wife and asking me for money," he said in his first statement, adding, "She wanted money on that day as well. I was actually going to give her, but I got angry and we had a row. I killed her in a fit of rage."

Ministry will follow the case

Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk has shared a message about the incident on her Twitter account.

"The sorrow of our daughter Pınar Gültekin, who was massacred in Muğla, has pierced through our hearts," she has said, adding that the Ministry will "intervene in the case and closely follow the ensuing judicial process so that the murderer will get the heaviest sentence possible."

Muğla’da katledilen Pınar Gültekin kızımızın acısı yüreğimizi yaktı; bir canımıza daha kıyıldı.

Davaya müdahil olarak katilin en ağır cezayı alması için hukuki sürecin yakın takipçisi olacağız.

— Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk (@ZehraZumrutS) July 21, 2020

Campaign on social media

After the killing of Pınar Gültekin was reported in the press, the incident has been harshly denounced, especially on social media.

Tweeting messages under the hashtag #PınarGültekin, several social media users, including politicians and right defenders, have expressed their outrage and underlined the importance of İstanbul Convention, which the government is currently discussing whether to withdraw from it or not.

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Some of these Twitter messages are as follows:

İstanbul Sözleşmesi yaşatabilirdi, sözleşmede yükümlülükler yerine getirilseydi. Ama iktidar #İstanbulSözleşmesi'ni iptal etmeye çalışıyor... 4 gündür aradığımız #PınarGültekin'i yitirdik... Yeter artık, gerçekten yeter... #İstanbulSözleşmesiYaşatır pic.twitter.com/UE6PfbQkPJ

— aslıalpar (@aslialpar) July 21, 2020

Editor-illustrator Aslı Alpar: "İstanbul Convention could have kept her alive, if the obligations stipulated by the convention had been fulfilled. But the government is trying to abolish the İstanbul Convention. We have lost Pınar Gültekin, whom we searched for four days. Enough is enough, it is indeed enough. İstanbul Convention keeps one alive."

Kadın cinayetleri davalarında indirim uygulayanlar, İstanbul Sözleşmesi'nin kaldırılmasını isteyenler ve kadına şiddeti normalleştiren söylemlerde bulunanlar #PınarGültekin'in katledilmesinin ortağıdır. Yaşam hakkı elinden alınan tüm kadınlar için bu davanın da takipçisi olacağız pic.twitter.com/4A3zJ7AxEW

— CHP İstanbul İl Başkanlığı (@CHP_istanbulil) July 21, 2020

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul Provincial Organization: "Those who reduce the sentences of perpetrators in feminicide cases, those who want the İstanbul Convention to be abolished and normalize violence against women with their statements are a party to the massacre of Pınar Gültekin. We will follow this case for all women who have been deprived of their right to life."

Kendisinden 5 gündür haber alınamayan #PınarGültekin'in cenazesi ormanlık bir alanda bulundu. Kadınlar her gün katledilirken İstanbul Sözleşmesi’ni tartışma konusu yapmak, kadın cinayetlerine ortak olmaktır. İsyanımız var, öfkeliyiz, şiddete geçit vermemeye kararlıyız! pic.twitter.com/uHRYb2YXvn

— HDP Kadın (@HDPkadin) July 21, 2020

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Women's Assembly: "Missing for five days, the deceased body of Pınar Gültekin has been found in the woods. Debating İstanbul Convention while women are massacred every day means being a party to feminicides. We have an uprise, we are outraged, we are determined to stand fast in the face of violence."

Erkek egemen yargı sisteminde en çok kadınları, LGBTİ+'leri, çocukları kaybediyoruz. Kadın katilleri yargılanmalı ve bir an önce İstanbul Sözleşmesi uygulanmalıdır. #PınarGültekin https://t.co/iKUBR57t4r

— Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu (@FatihMacoglu) July 21, 2020

Dersim Mayor Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu: "We lose women, LGBTI+s and children the most in male-dominated judicial system. Murderers of women must be put on trial and İstanbul Convention needs to be implemented."

İstanbul Sözleşmesi ve 6284 sayılı yasanın özellikle kadınlar için taşıdığı önemi ne zaman anlayacaksınız?
Kadın Cinayetleri politiktir derken işte tam da bundan bahsediyoruz, önüne geçmek için bir adım atılmıyor, aksine her geçen gün daha da geriye gidiliyor.#PınarGültekin pic.twitter.com/3CCKIYIt7Y

— Sezgin Tanrıkulu (@MSTanrikulu) July 21, 2020

CHP İstanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu: "When will you comprehend the importance of İstanbul Convention and the Law no. 6284, especially for women? When we say that feminicides are political, this is exactly what we are talkin about. No steps are taken to prevent it; on the contrary, a step is taken back with each passing day."

What happened?

Living in the Neighborhood of Akyaka in Ula, Muğla, Pınar Gültekin left her house on July 16. Talking to her sister on the phone, elder sister Sibel Gültekin could not reach her after that. Worried about her life, she and mother Şefika Gültekin went to Muğla and reported her missing by appealing to the Akyaka Gendarmerie Station. Following this report, gendarmerie teams started searching for the missing woman.

Sibel Gültekin said that her sister was living in her own house in Akyaka and briefly added, "The last time that I talked to her on the phone was at around 3 p.m. on Thursday. She told me that she was at a shopping mall in Menteşe district. Then, her phone was switched off and we could not reach her again. We informed the related authorities about the issue. It was said that she was seen in Akyaka the day after." (EMK/SD)