News Center- The Chilean feminist collective Las Tesis created a song called “The rapist is you” and performed a dance to protest violence against women International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November 2019. Videos of the performance went viral, spreading across the world. Women in Turkey also performed the dance by singing the song. But women demanding the end of violence against women faced violent attacks by police. They face prison sentences now.

On December 15, 2019, women gathered in İzmir and İstanbul to perform the Chilean "Las Tesis" protest anthem. Hundreds of women gathered in Alsancak quarter, they performed the dance by singing the song both in Turkish and Spanish. They said, “You will never be alone,” “You are the rapist, you are the killer; cops, judges, state, and president.”

Police didn’t interfere in protest but after the protests ended, 25 women were summoned to testify and they were taken into custody. The women have been accused of “insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, Turkish state institutions and organs.”

Women were released after testifying. An indictment was prepared against them accused of “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations” and a lawsuit has been opened against them. The first hearing of 25 women will be held today at İzmir Bayraklı Courthouse by 7th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Las Tesis cannot be tried!

Mor Dayanışma (Purple Association for Women's Solidarity) calls on women to stand by 25 women and to show their solidarity by saying, “Las Tesis is one of the women's resistance actions that spread from Chile across the world. Las Tesis cannot be tried.”