Latest editorial
Turkish opposition warns state is using rape as a means of warfare
Women march in support of the Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women, in Istanbul, last Sunday
TURKEY’s opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) warned today that rape is being used as a means of warfare by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, the chairwoman of the party’s women’s council, Ayse Acar Basaran, charged the AKP with responsibility for two recent rapes allegedly carried out by Turkish soldiers.
A 13-year-old girl was raped in the largely Kurdish city of Sirnak earlier this month, while a 17-year-old girl was raped in Batman province. In both cases, the alleged perpetrators were non-commissioned officers of the Turkish army.
Similar stories
CLAUDIA WEBBE looks at how Britain’s Nato ally has upped the stakes in its effort to silence domestic dissenting voices
