Another femicide occurred on Saturday afternoon in the occupied territories, in the Gerolakkos area, with the victim being a 35-year-old woman and the suspect her 41-year-old husband, who reportedly confessed to the crime. The Nicosia “district court” ordered on Sunday that he be held in custody for three days. This is the second femicide in the occupied territories in just five days, a fact that has sparked strong reactions documented in social media posts.
According to Turkish Cypriot online media, the incident occurred on Saturday afternoon on the main Morphou-Nicosia road, near the Gerolakkos industrial area. The 41-year-old was driving toward Nicosia with his wife as a passenger when a verbal altercation broke out between them.
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According to a “police” statement, as reported by Turkish Cypriot media, the vehicle subsequently veered off the road and traveled approximately 110 meters into a field. There, the 41-year-old allegedly struck his wife in the head with a power tool found in the vehicle, causing her death.
According to the latest reports published on Sunday in the Turkish Cypriot online press, the 41-year-old was brought before the “district court” in Nicosia, which ordered his detention for three days at the request of the “police.”
During the proceedings, the “police” stated that the suspect, following his arrest, had given a handwritten statement in which he allegedly admitted to killing his wife by striking her with his hands and on the head with the power tool found inside the vehicle. The “police” requested that he be held in custody for three days so that the investigation could continue and the autopsy could be completed. The “prosecutor’s office” and the defense raised no objection to the request.
The latest femicide sparked a wave of reactions on social media in the occupied territories, with posts focusing on the extent of violence against women and the need for more effective preventive measures.
In a post on his personal social media account, the “mayor” of occupied Nicosia, Mehmet Harmanci, stated that “yet another woman was murdered right before the eyes of the political leadership responsible for the security of this country.” He argued that violence against women is not treated as a social problem and criticized the “government” led by Ünal Ustel, arguing that over the past four years, policies implemented since 2018 to combat gender-based violence have been weakened. “Many of these murders and attempted murders could have been prevented,” she said.
This latest case comes just five days after the femicide on September 7 in the occupied village of Agios Georgios in Karpasia, near Trikomo. In that case, a 61-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her 71-year-old ex-husband outside her home. After the murder, the suspect attempted to take his own life and was hospitalized under guard.
According to information released following the previous femicide, there was a documented history of violence against the 61-year-old woman, and this had been preceded by legal proceedings and restrictive measures. The case had sparked strong reactions from organizations and agencies in the occupied territories, which had called for more effective measures to protect women from gender-based violence.
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