In the femicide case, the defendant husband's defense that makes you say 'unbelievable': I am against violence against women.

16.07.2026 16:01

Ismail K., who is on trial for allegedly killing his 24-year-old religiously married wife, Halin Nama, by shooting her in the head in Antalya, appeared before a judge for the first time. In his defense in court, the defendant Ismail K. stated that he had no reason to kill Helin Nama, saying, "I am against violence against women."

A 24-year-old woman was shot in the head and killed in Antalya, and her religiously wedded husband, who is being tried as a detainee in the case, faced the judge for the first time.

The incident occurred on January 18 in an apartment on Sütçüler Street in the Sütçüler neighborhood of Kepez district. Helin Nama (24) and İsmail K., who had begun living together in a religious marriage about three months prior, returned home after visiting Nama's family. An argument broke out between the couple for reasons still unknown. İsmail K. claimed that after the argument, Helin Nama went into the bedroom and locked the door, and when he forced the door open to talk to her, he saw the young woman with a gun pressed to her forehead.

INDICTMENT PREPARED

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment against İsmail K. on charges of "intentional killing of a woman" and "purchasing, carrying, or possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition," and filed a lawsuit.

The first hearing of the case was held at the Antalya 1st Heavy Penal Court. The detained defendant İsmail K., the victim's relatives, and lawyers for both parties were present at the hearing.

"THERE WAS NO REASON FOR ME TO KILL HER"

In the first hearing, where witnesses were also heard, İsmail K. made his defense, stating that he did not accept the accusations, saying, "I loved my wife very much. There was no reason for me to kill her. We met at the beginning of 2025, and we had a religious marriage in November of the same year. I never slapped her or said a bad word to her. The day before the incident, we sat and ate with my mother-in-law, father-in-law, and brother-in-law, and chatted. On the day of the incident, we woke up at 7:00 a.m. My wife went to her mother's house with her. I went to work. I worked at the same place as my father-in-law. When our work finished at 5:30 p.m., we went to my mother-in-law's house. I said I needed to shower and went to our home. After I showered, my wife called me and asked, 'Where have you been?' I said, 'I'm coming,' and went to them. It was 7:00 p.m.," he stated.

"WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR, SHE HAD THE GUN PRESSED TO HER HEAD"

İsmail K., who then described picking up Helin Nama from her family's home, claimed that an argument broke out between them when they returned home, saying, "I thought she was upset because I didn't tell her I was going to meet my cousin. When we got home, she came to me and asked, 'Why didn't you tell me?' I said I had told her when she called. Then she said, 'You should inform me first, you will tell me.' I replied, 'Do I need to get permission from you?' An argument ensued between us about informing and getting permission."

The defendant, claiming that Nama went to the bedroom and locked the door after the argument, stated, "I heard the door lock and went to the bedroom door. When I forced the door open, she had the gun pressed to her forehead. As I approached saying, 'Stop, what are you doing?' she pulled the trigger. For six months, I've been asking myself 'Why?' The presence of my fingerprints on the gun is entirely due to my contact with it. There may be gunshot residue on my hands because I intervened in the incident."

The defendant said he carried Helin Nama down from the apartment and took her to the hospital, stating, "I held her by the head with my right hand and by the legs with my left hand and started to take her down. While going down the stairs, I yelled to the neighbors, 'Help!' Then I took my wife to Kepez State Hospital. We had left my mother-in-law's house and arrived home around 11:00 p.m. The incident occurred about 10 minutes after we got home."

"I AM AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN"

İsmail K., who claimed he kept the gun to protect his home, said, "I was newly married and had gold at home. I bought the gun last year from someone I met at a construction site. If my wife wanted to leave me, why would she put the car in my name? Thank God, I have never been homeless. I have no criminal record. I am against violence against women. Would someone who is unhappy with her husband take selfies and share them every day? The statements of the plaintiffs are not true; everything they said are rehearsed statements at home."

SHE TOLD HER MOTHER "I AM UNHAPPY"

The mother of the deceased Helin Nama, however, argued that her daughter had no suicidal tendencies and said the couple occasionally had problems during their engagement period. Nama's mother stated, "They were married for about two months. There were occasional frictions between them during the engagement period, but whatever happened, it happened after the wedding. İsmail was psychologically pressuring my daughter. My daughter had reached a point where she couldn't even look us in the face. İsmail would say, 'Identities will change, let's give some time, we'll have a civil marriage later.'"

"WE LOVED OUR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW VERY MUCH"

The defendant's sister, Elif K., who was heard as a witness in the hearing, stated that they loved Helin Nama, saying, "We have never been to court before in our lives. We also loved our daughter-in-law very much. I spoke with Helin on the phone 2 days before the incident. She said they bought a car and would come to my house. On the date of the incident, I was in Diyarbakır. In our last conversation with Helin, we laughed, had fun, and chatted."

"HE WAS SAYING 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE' TO THE WOMAN"

Witness Nasuh B., who stated he was a guest in the apartment at the time of the incident, described what happened immediately after. Nasuh B. said, "The male was saying to the woman, 'What have you done?' He was carrying her down on his shoulder. He asked me to open the car door, and I did. I did not hear any gunshot sound."

"SHE SAID 'EVERY TIME WE ARGUE, HE PICKS UP A GUN'"

The victim's brother, Emrah N., who was also heard as a witness, stated that his sister came to the family home for dinner with the defendant on the day of the incident. Emrah N. said the couple had gone to Bursa a few days before the incident to buy a car, adding, "During the trip, they argued because Helin was driving the car too fast. İsmail told my sister, 'I will beat you.' At dinner, I reacted to İsmail, saying, 'Her parents never touched her, who are you?' Helin said to me, 'Don't push him too hard, every time we argue, he picks up a gun.'"

COURT WATCHED FOOTAGE OF THE DECEASED WOMAN FIRING IN A VACANT LOT

During the hearing, footage showing Helin Nama on the hood of a moving vehicle and firing a blank gun in a vacant lot was shown to the court panel.