HONOR CRIMES IN TURKEY: RETHINKING HONOUR KILLINGS AND RECONSTRUCTING THE COMMUNITY USING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM Türkiye'de Namus Cinayetleri: Namus Cinayetlerini Yeniden Dü?ünmek ve Toplumu Onar?c? Adalet Sistemi ile Yeniden Yap?land?rmak Sercan TOKDEM?R * ABSTRACT The issue of honor killings, which is under a great deal of writings and sayings in recent our days, has been a controversial and much disputed subject within the concept of the tradition. Not only 'tradition motifs' but cultural and religious bases have carry importance in this sense. According to traditional beliefs, honor is intimately connected with female sexuality and the only way to restore familial honor once it is damaged by a woman's sexual misconduct is by killing the guilty woman. On one hand, some contend that it would be necessary to assess the effects of Islamic religion, on the other some find associations between honor killings and traditional and cultural practices without religious contexts. The issue has grown in importance in light of recent legal efforts such as the current Turkish criminal procedure created some victim-offender mediations integrating the criminal process. These explanations have thrown up important following questions: to extent to which the principles of criminal justice can be integrated into the Restorative Justice system and is it a suitable justice intervention? By considering new attempts including educative and informative legal and social programs, an effective and desirable Restorative Justice process can have an opportunity to be established regarding the patriarchal community structure in modern Turkey. Key Words: Honor, honor killings, restorative justice process, victim-offender mediation programs, criminal justice system, neighbourhood pressure, community, collective responsibility, murder of traditions, tribe, patriharchal, ÖZET Son zamanlarda hakk?nda oldukça fazla yaz?lan ve konu?ulan namus cinayetleri konusu gelenek kavram? içinde tart??mal? ve bir o kadar da çetrefilli bir konu haline geldi. Namus cinayetleri sadece geleneksel motilerle örülü bir konu de?il, ayr?ca kültürel ve dinsel temelleri önem arz eden bir konu haline geldi. Geleneksel inançlara göre namus kavram? kad?n?n cinsiyeti ile yak?ndan alakal? olup, ailenin ?erefi kad?n?n cinsiyetinin ba?kas? taraf?ndan suistimali ile zarar görecek olursa, bundan kurtulman?n tek caresi kad?n? sorumlu bulup onu öldürmektir. Bunun geleneksel ve kültürel temelli bir konu oldu?u kabul edilse de, kimine göre bu cinayetlerin i?lenmesinde ?slam * Research Assistant at Erzincan Univesity, Law Faculty: Criminal Law and Criminal Justice; Graduated from the University of Sussex in United Kingdom in October in 2013, Law Department; Master of International Criminal Law (LLM) Law & Justice Review, Volume: IV, Issue: 2, December 2013
Honor Crimes in Turkey: Rethinking Honour Killings and Reconstructing the Community Using Restorative Justice System Sercan TOKDEM?R dininin de etkisi vard?r. Mevcut Türk Ceza Muhakemesi hukukunda arabuluculukla ilgili yeni hukuki düzenlemeler ile konu daha da önem arz eder oldu. Arabuluculuk konusunun Türk Ceza Adaleti Sistemine al?nmas? namus cinayetlerinde 'Onar?c? Adalet' sisteminin uygalanabilecek bir muhakeme süreci olup olmad??? ve ne dereceye kadar bu sistemin ceza adaleti sistemine entegre edilebilece?i sorular?n? önemli k?ld?. Egitici ve bilgilendirici sosyal icerikli hukuki programlarla modern Türkiye'de ataerkil toplum yap?s?n? da dikkate alarak, etkili bir onar?c? adalet sisteminin in?a edilebir olmas?