A man who throttled his half-sister to death and hung her body from a gas pipe because she stayed out too late at night has been jailed for 30 years.
Selim Kantar confessed to killing his half-sister - 30-year-old mother-of-two Dilsen Avci - at their family home in Pursaklar District, Ankara Province, central Turkey on June 27, 2020.
Her body was found hanging from a gas pipe by her horrified mother.
And unrepentant Kantar told a court: "I'd do it again."
Dilsen's death was first thought to be suicide, until Kantar confessed to strangling her in a letter from prison, where he was serving time for another crime.
He had been arrested one month after killing his half-sister and waited another nine months before confessing.
He was charged with murder and told the Ankara 34th High Criminal Court during his trial that he did not regret his actions, claiming: "I would kill her again."
According to the public prosecutor, Kantar killed his half-sister because she would go out late at night.
Given his criminal record and lack of remorse, the court handed him aggravated life imprisonment, meaning he can only be considered for parole after serving 30 years.
The half-siblings' mother, 58-year-old Necmiye Tiras, told local media after the verdict: "He received the highest punishment he could get.
"This punishment made us a little bit happy. I hope he never gets out of there."
Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, particularly after the country officially quit the Istanbul Convention in July last year.
According to the 2021 Annual Data Report announced by the 'We Will Stop Femicide Platform', 280 women were killed by men in 2021, while 217 women were found suspiciously dead.
According to data from the 'Monument Counter', which is "a digital memorial for women killed by violence" and is updated daily, 302 femicides have taken place in Turkey so far this year.
