JINHA

AMED – The Diyarbakır 4^thHigh Criminal Court saw the first hearing in the case of Ramazan Börü, accused of "voluntary manslaughter" in the killing of his wife Emine Börü in the Bağlar neighborhood of Diyarbakir on December 1^st.Advocates of ending the wave of femicides in Turkey are closely following the case.

The suspect himself did not attend because his mother was allegedly in the hospital.

Lawyers from the Diyarbakir Bar Association's Centers for Solidarity and Implementation of Women's Rights and members of the platform "We Will Stop Women Killings," however, were present. The judge denied requests from platform members to take part in the case.

Emine had previously gone to a women's shelter to escape violence at home, although she had returned (facing further violence) because she could not stand being separated from her children. Fatma Börü, Emine's sister, stated that her older sister had attempted to leave again two days before the murder, but that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had prevented her from doing so.

That entire week, Fatma said, Ramazan was walking around the house with a gun. "Everyone in that house knew my sister would be killed but no one did a thing about it."

Emine's father Hüseyin Güneş testified that his daughter had previously tried to move back in with her parents to escape the constant violence. Emine was "murdered before my grandchildren's eyes," he said.

The case ended with a decision to continue the suspect's detention and to force the attendance at the next hearing of Perihan and Nazlı Börü (the suspect's mother and sister, respectively). The next hearing has been postponed until 31 March.

(sg/mg/cm)