Activist lawyer becomes another victim of femicide

ISTANBUL

In yet another disgraceful incident, a woman has fallen victim to femicide in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, adding to a long list of names of women who died at the hands of men.

Dilara Yıldız, a 29-year-old lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association, was shot to death by Oktay Dönmez, reported to be her ex-fiancée, at a restaurant in Tuzla district.

It was alleged that Dönmez introduced himself to Yıldız as a sergeant, but turned out that he was a member of a “prostitution gang” instead.

According to reports, Dönmez broke into Yıldız’s house and stayed there alone for 10 days when she was out of town. He also put a gun to the lawyer’s head and tried to get her to sign a deed in order to confiscate the woman’s property.

It was learned that in an attempt to save herself, Yıldız informed the police about her whereabouts and convinced Dönmez to meet her at a restaurant near a police station, with Dönmez having no clue about it.

Seeing police teams coming to the restaurant, Dönmez stood up and fired five shots at the young woman, eventually killing her in front of dozens of witnesses.

Police officials caught Dönmez at the scene.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Yıldız had filed a criminal complaint against Dönmez many times before and that Dönmez even had a suspension order issued by a court.

Social media posts that emerged after the murder also revealed that Yıldız repeatedly received death threats from her ex-fiancée.

Struggling with violence against women as a lawyer and an activist, Yıldız has become the seventh victim of femicide so far in 2022.