First published April 27, 2021.
Melek İpek, whose case became a national symbol of the fight against domestic violence in Turkey. Photo: Hürriyet.
On April 26, 2021, a criminal court in Antalya, southern Turkey, released Melek İpek, a 31-year-old mother of two who had killed her husband in January of that year. The court accepted that she acted in self-defence after years of severe abuse, and ruled that there was no ground to punish her. She walked out of court to be reunited with her daughters after more than three months in pre-trial detention.
The case drew attention far beyond Turkey because it arrived only weeks after the government announced it was leaving the Istanbul Convention, the European treaty on violence against women. Here is what happened, what the court decided and why the ruling mattered.
What happened in January 2021
According to Turkish and international reports, the events took place at the family's home in Antalya on or around January 7, 2021. İpek testified that her husband, Ramazan İpek, had routinely handcuffed her and beaten her for hours, and that he threatened to kill her and their children. The couple had been married for about twelve years.
That night, after another attack, she shot her husband with a hunting rifle. Some early English-language reports said she had stabbed him, but court reporting from Turkey describes a shooting. She then called the gendarmerie and turned herself in. Officers who arrived found her with visible injuries to her face and body, and she was still wearing handcuffs.
A photograph of her bruised face spread widely on Turkish social media, and women's rights groups quickly took up her cause under the message that she was a victim defending her life, not a murderer.
The charges and the trial
İpek was arrested and held in custody while prosecutors prepared the case. The indictment accepted by the court charged her with deliberately killing her spouse, an offence that can carry a very long prison term in Turkey. Her lawyer, Ahmet Onaran, argued from the start that she had acted in legitimate self-defence.
The trial at the Antalya 3rd High Criminal Court opened in March 2021. Evidence included her own statement, testimony from her two daughters that supported her account, and a statement from another woman who said Ramazan İpek had also abused and threatened her. At the hearing, İpek told the court that if her husband had not died, she or her children would be dead.
What the court decided
On April 26, 2021, the court ruled that İpek had acted out of fear, tension and panic while defending herself against attacks on her life, her bodily integrity and her sexual freedom, both before and during the incident. It found her actions excusable on those grounds and concluded there was no basis for punishment. She was released the same day.
Outside the court, her daughters ran to embrace her. Speaking to reporters, she said, "I reunited with my children. I'll be able to get a good sleep tonight." Her lawyer called the decision a relief for the public and a reaffirmation of the rule of law, and said he would continue to represent her because the other side could still appeal.
Women's groups called the ruling a rare victory. Turkish courts have often been criticised for handing long sentences to women who kill abusive partners, while critics say men who kill women have sometimes received reduced sentences for "provocation" or "good conduct" in court.
Violence against women in Turkey: the numbers
Exact figures are hard to pin down, because there is no single official count of femicides that activists accept. Some widely used data points:
- The We Will Stop Femicide Platform, a Turkish campaign group that tracks cases through news reports and families, recorded more than 300 women killed by partners or family members in 2020.
- Research cited by the World Health Organization found that about 38 percent of women in Turkey had experienced violence from a husband or partner.
- Activist Berrin Sönmez was quoted by The New York Times in 2021 as saying that at least three women were being killed every day in Turkey and that the killings were becoming more violent.
Other figures circulate online, such as a claim that almost 1,000 women were killed in the first months of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's leadership, but we could not find a reliable source for them, so treat them with caution.
The Istanbul Convention withdrawal
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was opened for signature in Istanbul in May 2011, and Turkey was the first country to ratify it, in 2012. It requires states to prevent violence, protect and support victims, prosecute offenders and coordinate their policies, and it is monitored by an independent expert group called GREVIO.
On March 20, 2021, President Erdoğan announced by presidential decree that Turkey would withdraw. The government said Turkish law already protected women and argued that the treaty conflicted with family values; officials also said it had been used to "normalize homosexuality." Opposition parties argued that only parliament could withdraw from a ratified treaty, and protests took place in many cities. The Council of Europe called the decision devastating. The withdrawal took effect on July 1, 2021, making Turkey the only country to have left the convention.
Against that background, the İpek verdict was read by many as a sign that courts could still recognise self-defence by abused women, whatever the political climate.
Why the case still matters
Self-defence cases involving long-term abuse are difficult in many legal systems. The law often expects a response to an immediate threat, while abuse victims live under constant danger and may act at a moment that does not look "immediate" to an outsider. The Antalya court explicitly considered the fear and panic built up by repeated violence, which campaigners say should be the norm rather than the exception.
The case also showed the power of evidence and visibility. Photographs of her injuries, the handcuffs she was found in and her children's testimony made the abuse hard to dismiss. Many victims do not have that evidence, and many incidents are never reported.
Where to find help
If you are in danger, call your local emergency number. In Turkey, victims can contact emergency services on 112 and the Ministry of Family and Social Services support line, ALO 183; the police KADES app also lets women send an emergency alert. Most countries have free, confidential domestic violence hotlines, and local women's organisations can help with shelter and legal advice.
Sources: Bianet, April 27, 2021: Exercising her right of self-defense, Melek İpek released; Duvar English, April 27, 2021; The New Arab / AFP, April 2021; Wikipedia: Istanbul Convention; photo: Hürriyet.
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