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The appeal hearing in the trial of Nevin Yıldırım, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing a man who raped her, was held today (September 14) before the Supreme Court of Appeal 1st Penal Chamber.
The final sentence will be passed on September 21.
Defended by 25 women attorneys
Members of Ankara Women's Platform gathered also in front of the court to support Yıldırım.
Yıldırım was defended by 25 woman attorneys in the appeal hearing.
Yıldırım's attorneys made a statement after the hearing ended and said:
"We grounded our entire defence on self defence, exceeding the limit fear and panic. And we tried to explain that if the court did not decide accordingly, there should definitely be an abatement for unjust provocation and good conduct and how sexist it would be to allow such abatements for men and not for Nevin".
"This is a male violence case even if the defendant is a woman"
One of Yıldırım's attorneys, Meriç Eyüboğlu speaking to bianet yesterday (September 13) said:
"Even though the defendant is a woman, this is a male violence case. Just like is in the cases of Yasemin Çakal and Çilem Doğan [who also killed their husbands who inflicted violence on them). This is what is common for these women: As they were desperate, as no state mechanism helped women like Nevin, as they could find not other alternative, they had to kill [their husbands].
"We don't defend death. We don't say 'we are Nevin's axe, but we say 'women are looking out for their lives'. But we also understand that there is no other alternative for these women. We hear Nevin's voice. That's why it is important to be her voice", Eyüboğlu added.
What happened?
Nevin Yıldırım, the mother of two children living in Koruyaka village of Isparta, was raped at gunpoint by 35-year old N.G., also father of two children on August 29, 2012.
Following the rape, Yıldırım killed N.G. who raped her, put his head in a sack and threw the sack to the village square saying "here is the head of the one who stained my honour".
Yıldırım also got pregnant after the rape and was forced to give birth to the baby without her consent on November 7, 2012.
She faced aggravated life imprisonment for "planned willful murder with atrocious feelings".
A forensic medicine report confirming that Yıldırım's mental health was intact, was submitted to the court in November 2014.
On March 2015, she was sentenced to life imprisonment. No abatement was imposed on her sentence. (ÇT/DG)
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