Demonstration in north over brutal murder of girl

Human rights organisations and NGOs in the north on Friday are set to hold a demonstration outside a court in Trikomo, where a 21-year-old suspected of murdering 16-year-old girl Zehie Helin Reessur is set to be remanded.

Sefer Bugra Altundag is suspected of brutally bludgeoning to death the girl.

Turkish Cypriot police said that the murder took place sometime between 1.59am and 2.12am on January 26.

The main organisers of the protest on Friday are members of the Famagusta Women Association.

“We call on all our people to demonstrate our indignation at this unacceptable event that has deeply wounded our society,” the association said in a statement, calling for harsh penalties against the perpetrator.

On Tuesday, the girl’s classmates also demonstrated outside their school in Famagusta, urging the ‘government’ to take action in order for similar tragedies not to happen again.

Authorities said the suspect took the victim to a construction site in Trikomo where, after an argument, he hit her in the head five times with a hammer.

He then reportedly dragged her body 100 metres and hit her on the head twice more with an iron bar, which proved fatal.

Altundag, who Turkish Cypriot media identified as the 16-year-old’s boyfriend, surrendered himself to the Greek Cypriot police after he had fled to the south of the island through the Dherynia crossing point.

He presented himself to a police station in the south.

Following the death of the girl there was a public outcry in the media over how it was covered by some outlets in the north.

The newspaper Kibris ran a title calling the act a ‘crime of passion,’ which drew the condemnation of the Turkish Cypriot journalists union (KTGB).

“The brutal murder of a 16-year-old girl by another 21-year-old has hurt the hearts of us journalists, as well as all members of the society,” the unions said.

They added that Kibris’ decision to publish the aforementioned title and pictures of the girl’s body necessitates them to file a complaint with the media ethics committee in the north.

Main opposition CTP youth group also decried the murder.

“Violence cases, which are increasing day by day in our country, particularly threaten the lives of women and children. We young people watch this uncontrolled environment with anxiety every day, and we do not want any young person to live in such an environment of fear,” the group said.

They called on the ‘government’ in the north to act and protect the values of Turkish Cypriot society.