'Mum, don’t die': Murder of Turkish woman sparks outrage

ISTANBUL- Anadolu Agency

The murder of a Turkish woman by her ex-husband in front of her daughter sparked outrage on Aug. 23 after a video of the attack was published online.

"I don’t want to die," Emine Bulut, covered in blood, is heard screaming to her 10-year-old child. Her tearful daughter says: "Mum, please don’t die."

The 38-year-old was stabbed to death in a cafe on August 18 by her former husband in the central Anatolian city of Kırıkkale.

Bulut, who divorced her killer four years ago, later died in hospital.

Fedai Baran told police he killed his former wife with a knife he always carried with him.

Her name was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and "I don’t want to die" (#olmekistemiyorum) was widely quoted on social media.

Dozens of protesters on Aug. 23 gathered in the capital Ankara to denounce the murder.

Officials, including Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül, were quick to condemn the murder after the video was published, along with celebrities and football clubs such as Beşiktaş.

"We expect the murderer to be punished in the most severe manner," tweeted presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın.

The government said a team of psychologists was caring for the child.

In the first six months of 2019, 214 women were killed by men, while 440 women were killed last year, according to the women’s rights group We Will Stop Femicide. That was up from 409 women in 2017 and 121 in 2011.