In a landmark decision on domestic violence, the European Court of Human Rights has said Turkey failed to protect a woman from being murdered by her son- in- law and ordered Ankara to pay damages.
The Strasbourg-based court ruled that Turkey had denied a citizen the “right to life” by failing to prevent her murder by her son-in-law. The case marks the first time that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against a state in a case of domestic violence.
The court also ruled Turkey had violated the convention on human rights which prohibits torture, inhumane treatment and discrimination.
The government in Ankara was ordered to pay 36,000 euros ($50,000) in compensation to a applicant whose former husband shot her mother.
“This is a precedent for further cases in countries of the European Council,” a court spokesperson said.
Turkish authorities failed to prevent “honor killing”
The 37-year-old applicant had repeatedly appealed for protection by the authorities, warning that both her life and that of her mother were in danger. But despite injuries from several earlier incidents of abuse, Turkish authorities failed to react.
The shooting took place in 2002 when the applicant and her mother had tried to flee to another city. The applicant’s former husband was then found guilty and sentenced to life by a Turkish court but was later released pending his appeal that he had committed the killing to protect his family’s “honor.”
According to human rights organization Amnesty International, as many as half of Turkish women face domestic violence and dozens of women are killed in so called “honor killings” each year. The organization claims that domestic violence is largely accepted by police, authorities and the judiciary in Turkey.
“The general and discriminatory judicial passivity in Turkey created a climate that was conducive to domestic violence,” the court said in a statement.
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