Oya Budak’s death marks the 207th case of femicide in Turkey this year, according to women’s rights organizations.
Oya Budak, a pregnant 18-year-old rape victim, was murdered in Istanbul by the man her family had arranged for her to marry after he discovered she was pregnant, according to Turkish and international media reports.
The Turkish teenager was raped by someone she worked with, but did not disclose the situation to her family. The rapist has since been convicted of the attack, according to the Toronto Star.
Her fiancé, named by the Turkiye Gazetes as 19-year-old Samet T., reportedly discovered her pregnancy during a hospital visit and threw away her ring.
After calling off the engagement, Samet T. reportedly arranged to meet with Budak in a forested area in Sarıyer where he allegedly shot her last week. Both Budak and her five-and-a-half month-old fetus were killed after she sustained bullet wounds to her chest and ear.
Samet T. reportedly attempted to flee the scene in his father’s car but was arrested an hour after the murder. He reportedly confessed to the murder.
After appearing in court, he is reported to have told local media, “I did well, I don’t regret it.”
Budak’s grandfather told Turkish media: “The girl had been raped before, but she did not tell us. She said she had a stomachache, and I gave her medicine. She would say, ‘I feel better, grandpa.’ We do not know that she is pregnant.
She did not tell her mother, father, or aunts. When the girl said, ‘I have pain,’ her fiancé took her to the hospital and learned that she was pregnant. He told his mother and father. They said, ‘Get a divorce.’ They said, ‘If we had known she was pregnant, we would not have promised [the engagement.]’
“His mother came and said, ‘This girl is not suitable for my child.’ I said, ‘The girl loves the boy, and the boy loves the girl.’ I told the boy, ‘Make your mother and father agree, and if you accept the boy, rent a house,’ but his mother did not accept.”
Femicide in Turkey
Budak’s aunt Bahriye Şener told Haber Turk, “She was only 18 years old and she was raped. She didn’t do anything wrong.”
Budak’s death marks the 207th case of femicide in Turkey this year, according to women’s rights organizations.
Despite Budak’s recent rape and murder the Governor’s Office stated on Sunday that International Women’s Day protests and marches in the city had been banned.