The Common Reason for "Honourable" Men to Kill

Today the trial against Tahir Daştanoğlu starts at the Bakırköy Court House in Istanbul. Daştanoğlu supposedly killed his 28-year-old wife Dilek Daştanoğlu because she wanted a divorce. Dilek Daştanoğlu worked as a nurse in the Neurology Department of the Istanbul Bakırköy Hospital for Mental and Neurological Diseases.

bianet talked to the lawyer of Dilek Daştanoğlu's family Yadigar Gürbüz. In the indictment "unjustifiable provocation" is put forward as the reason for the murder, Gürbüz says.

"Unjustifiable provocation" is the first defence named by men who killed women. After the determined efforts of women's rights defenders, the element of "provocation" was rejected in the murder cases of Ayşe Yılbaş and Sevim Zarif. This led to life sentences without deduction for the defendants in these cases, yet it is difficult to predict the outcome of similar cases.

The initial situation is the same in the Daştanoğlu case.

According to news from Sabah newspaper, after 9 years of marriage Dilek Daştanoğlu filed a divorce case against her 32-year-old husband 1 year ago under charges of "insuperable misunderstandings". In the meantime Daştanoğlu had moved out of the house and stayed in the lodgings belonging to the hospital.

As reported by Sabah, Tahir Daştanoğlu allegedly killed his wife, who wanted to finish the divorce procedures as soon as possible, with a gun. The husband was arrested and detained in prison the very same day. As a reason for the killing he stated Dilek Daştanoğlu saying "Let's get divorced now because there is somebody else in my life", Sabah covered.

SES Women form protest

Dilek Daştanoğlu was a member of the Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES) Bakırköy Branch. SES is going to issue a press release before today's hearing and will follow the case closely.

SES voiced their criticism prior to case, "Does the pretence for the murder of our friend not sound awfully familiar? Honour. This is the easiest and most legal way to kill a women in this country", SES stated. (ÖG/TK/VK)