Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

A Turkish man has been arrested for stabbing his wife to death at her place of work because he did not want a divorce.

The suspect Mehmet Kuyar, 33, and his estranged wife Gulsum Kuyar, 29, were married for 12 years and had two children together before she was killed on 21st February.

The couple was in the process of divorcing and Gulsum had recently taken out a restraining order against her husband for alleged domestic abuse.

Despite the restraining order, the suspect went to his wife’s place of work at a nearby school in the district of Sincan in the Turkish province of Ankara, and the pair became embroiled in a row.

During the argument, Mehmet pulled out a knife and reportedly stabbed the victim 11 times before fleeing the scene.

Gulsum, who was seriously injured, was taken by ambulance to the Ankara Dr Nafiz Korez Sincan State Hospital where she passed away.

Her body was buried next to her sister’s grave in the district of Gulnar in the Turkish province of Mersin.

The suspect was caught by the police seven days later and reportedly confessed his guilt to the crime.

In his first statement to the police, he said he stabbed his wife during the argument because he did not want to divorce.

Mehmet, who was previously jailed for injuring a man, hid in derelict buildings after the murder and did not use his phone or try to contact anyone.

The investigation continues.

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 dead in suspicious circumstances.

According to data from the ‘Monument Counter’, set up to honour the victims of violence against women in Turkey and updated every day, 68 femicides have taken place since the beginning of 2022.