Thousands protest murder of Özgecan Aslan

Around 15,000 people marched in the southern province of Mersin on Feb. 18 to protest the brutal murder of 20-year-old Özgecan Aslan.

The group gathered in and around the campus of Ça? University, where Aslan was studying psychology, and included students, families and other people from neighboring provinces. The neighboring Adana and Mersin Municipalities provided buses to the campus for the transport of citizens who wanted to attend.

The crowd, mostly wearing black outfits to mourn Özgecan, marched on the D-400 main road, carrying banners and shouting slogans against violence against women.

The banners included messages reading ?Rape is a crime against humanity,? ?Did you hear Özge?s scream?? ?Say ?stop? to murders of women,? and ?We are not mourning but revolting.?

The march ended at Cumhuiyet Square in the Yenice neighborhood of Mersin, after a five-kilometer walk.

Esengül Salu, who spoke in the name of the students in the protest, said they demanded new regulations for gender equality to be realized, Anadolu Agency reported.

Salu also said the authorities should examine the cooperatives tasked with providing transportation between cities to ensure that all security measures are taken, adding that all drivers should undergo vocational training.

Aslan was killed by a driver of a minibus in which she was traveling from the Tarsus district to Mersin city center.

Meanwhile, the Tarsus Buses and Motor Vehicles Cooperative (TOK) also halted all works on Feb. 18 to commemorate Aslan?s killing. Minibus drivers in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r reacted to the murder by hanging black ribbons on their vehicles, saying they felt uncomfortable for doing the same job as the murderer.