While 23 of the 28 women who were taken into custody in scope of an investigation launched by Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 5 women were arrested and sent to prison.

 

One of the women, Free Women's Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad- TJA) Spokesperson Ayşe Gökkan who was released with judicial control measures was questioned about TJA at the police headquarters. Gökkan responded to these question and said TJA is working on ecology and liberty of women in a democratic way and that it is an independent and universal movement.

 

Saying that she has been fighting for women's rights for 35 years, Gökkan stated that she was detained dozens of times for this. Gökkan said: "If this is a crime, I plead guilty. I have faced the court at least 200 times until now. And everytime I walked out free. Because they could not find anything to accuse me of. They are proving themselves wrong every time."

 

'WHEN WE ARE UNORGANIZED, WE ARE BEING KILLED'

 

Stating that women are constantly harassed and raped and perpetrators walk every time, Gökkan said that this harrassment and rape incidentw were the result of the alliance of men and state. Stating that women are no longer afraid because they are organized, Gökkan said: "This is how I defended myself. I am 55 now. If I haven't been killed by a men yet, it is because I defended myself. We fought against traditions and honour killings for years. But the men, and the state called these murders 'love murders'. We saw that the men at home, the men in the society and the men in the state have always fought against us. When women are unorganized, they can not breathe, and they are being killed."

 

GOVERNMENT HAS WAGED WAR AGAINST WOMEN

 

Mentioning the sexual abuse cases in the region, Gökkan said that it was the result of government officials and decision mechanisms' encouragement. Gökkan said: "You can't talk about democracy in a country where the women are not free. Because the freedom of women is a unit of measurement everywhere in the world. Child molestation is a horrible crime. We are against this new regulation they want to make about child abuse. The government says they will withdraw from İstanbul agreement. It means 'you are not the citizen of this country, you are the citizen of men. The women don't want to live in the shadow of the men. We don't accept that. No one can take away my right to choose, my right to freedom. The government has waged war against women by by detaining, arresting, murdering them. If I live in this country, the government has to listen to me. Me being here does not mean that I am guilty. I do not consider myself guilty."