Özgecan Aslan (22 October 1995 – 11 February 2015) was a Turkish university student who was murdered while resisting attempted rape on 11 February 2015 on a minibus in Mersin, Turkey. Her burnt body was discovered on 13 February. The murder was committed by minibus driver Ahmet Suphi Altındöken, and his father Necmettin Altındöken and friend Fatih Gökçe were accomplices in covering up the murder. All perpetrators were handed aggravated life sentences without the possibility of parole. The murder sparked nationwide outrage and protests across the country in the following days. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in several provinces, with some criticizing the government for its "insufficient response" and alleged normalisation of the rape of non-conservative women. The protests were described as the first mass movement for Turkish women. Her killing also provoked calls for reforms to combat violence against women more effectively. The case received great attention on social media and prompted women to share their experiences of harassment, with 16 February being dubbed as "Black Monday" due to protests. The murder was described as a catalyst for women to speak out about their long-withheld suffering, but The Guardian expected also a rift between women who defend silence and the patriarchal status quo and those refusing to keep quiet.
Background Özgecan was born into a poor Alevi Turkish family, who traced their origins to Tunceli. She was born and raised in Mersin. She was a first-year psychology student in the Çağ University in Tarsus, a major she had developed a strong passion for while studying at the tourism high school. Her parents were supportive of her, with her mother returning to the workforce in order to fund her education, to augment the 50% scholarship she had earned. Her father was a graphic designer, but he lacked a permanent job at the time of the murder, while her mother had previously retired from a cargo company. She was also planning to work at a hotel in Northern Cyprus during the summer to help with her fees. She had an elder sister who was studying opera and singing in Adana; Özgecan was also described as an avid opera listener and reader. The perpetrator's father, who assisted him, hailed from a wealthy family in Tarsus and was at one time a jeweller. However, he had since gone bankrupt and started to work with his son as a minibus driver. He had previous records of smuggling. The perpetrator's wife (married to him five years prior to the murder) claimed that he had continuously inflicted violence on her, and that he had forced her to withdraw her suit for divorce a few months before the incident as he allegedly had threatened to kill her and their son. A friend of Özgecan claimed that they had been afraid to use the minibuses in the area, and that the drivers and some passengers had stared at them through mirrors and windows whenever they left the bus several times before the incident.
Murder and search
On the day of the murder, Özgecan went to a shopping center with her friend. After eating, the women took the minibus to return home. Özgecan was last seen by her friend when she alighted at her stop, leaving Özgecan alone in the minibus. As Özgecan did not return home after nightfall, she was reported missing. Meanwhile, the minibus driver stopped at a Gendarmerie checkpoint to ask for directions, but instead of following the directions, diverted into a forest. The gendarme became suspicious and stopped the vehicle to find smears of blood, which the driver claimed had been caused by a fight between passengers. After a brief investigation, the suspects were released. After Özgecan was reported missing, the gendarme looked for the minibus again. It was captured with two of the suspects; Özgecan's hat (confirmed as hers by her father) was found inside. The two suspects subsequently admitted the murder, and the search for the third suspect began. According to news reports, the driver of the minibus attempted to rape Özgecan, but she resisted by using pepper spray. Following this, he stabbed her multiple times, and beat her to death with an iron rod. He returned to Tarsus following the murder and asked for help from his father and a friend. The three men burnt Özgecan's body together in a forest and cut off her hands, as Özgecan had scratched the perpetrator's face during the struggle, and they feared that his DNA would be identified on the fingernails. Later, the post-mortem examination revealed that she had not been raped and DNA of the prime suspect was indeed found on her fingernails. The trio is then alleged to have disposed of the burnt body into a creek near the village of Çamalan. The body was discovered by the police on 13 February and was transported to the Tarsus State Hospital. Özgecan's body and face were burnt to the point that it rendered identification impossible; clothes found with her body were used in identification.
Investigation and trial
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