Turkish court’s moral evaluations in verdict on death of woman raise eyebrows

ISTANBUL

A court ruling in the case into the death of a 26-year-old woman has stirred fresh controversy, after it acquitted two suspects of murder, based on the possibility of the woman’s suicide, daily Milliyet has reported.

Nazlı Sinem Erköseoğlu was found dead in the yard of a building in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district in 2010. Her body was found by Emre Paksoy after she had spent time with his brother, Can Paksoy.

The court dropped murder charges against the Paksoy brothers due to lack of evidence, focusing on the fact that Erköseoğlu may have committed suicide.

“It is impossible to determine what was done or thought by Erköseoğlu, who drank alcohol with a man after one meeting, went to his home together at 3.00 a.m., had sexual intercourse, and then could not sleep after he fell asleep,” the court said in its detailed ruling.

The ruling’s justification drew angry reactions due to its moral questioning of Erköşeoğlu, despite her absence.

While speculating on the negative situation that could have caused Erköseoğlu to commit suicide, the court described her as someone who was rejected by a man after establishing intimacy. It also stated that she could not find a decent job despite receiving education abroad, was still in need of her family’s support despite being 26 years old, and it noted that her parents were divorced.

Erköseoğlu and Can Paksoy reportedly met at an engagement ceremony, which she had chosen to attend rather than her father’s wedding. She later went home with him to Emre Paksoy’s home.

The only witness was Can Pakyol, but there was no evidence that Erköseoğlu was forced to anything before or after going to the home, according to the court. Her autopsy said she had died due to injuries inflicted after falling down.

The court ruling also stated that it was normal for Emre Paksoy to first call his father, rather than paramedics or the police, after finding the woman’s body, because he did not think the woman could have survived after falling from the eighth floor.