- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
Anti-femicide group goes on trial in Turkey
A prominent Turkish anti-femicide campaign group went on trial on Wednesday accused of activity against law and morals, with several hundred women rallying outside Istanbul's main court in protest.
Prosecutors had filed a lawsuit in April against We Will Stop Femicide Platform, one of the country's leading feminist organisations. If convicted, the group could be shut down.
Protesters outside the court waved banners bearing slogans such as "You will never walk alone!" and "We will stop women's murders", alongside the families of women murdered by men.
We Will Stop Femicide Platform has been campaigning against the murder and abuse of women since its foundation in 2010.
Group representative Nursen Inal slammed the trial, saying it was politically motivated.
"We believe this court case is an attack against women's struggle for their rights," she told AFP.
The hearing adjourned on Wednesday and will resume on October 5.
- 'Under pressure' -
The association was a vocal critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision last year to pull Turkey out of the Istanbul Convention, which requires countries to set up laws aimed at preventing and prosecuting violence against women.
Social conservatives in Turkey claim the convention promotes homosexuality and threatens traditional family values.
We Will Stop Femicide Platform says 160 women have been killed in Turkey this year and 423 in 2021, with many murders committed by family members.
"We are under pressure from the government because we publicise, name by name, each and every woman's murder," Inal said.
"This contradicts the government's thesis which says women's murder is on the decline."
In April alone, 24 women were murdered, the group said -- adding that 16 others had died in suspicious circumstances, even though some of these deaths were officially registered as suicide.
We Will Stop Femicide Platform's secretary-general Fidan Ataselim told the court on Wednesday that the group kept a record of femicides because official data is hard to access.
"Nobody is talking about women's suspicious deaths. There is an increase in femicide under the pretext of suicide. We will shed light on covered up murders," she said.
- 'Unlawful, dangerous' -
Ipek Bozkurt, lawyer for We Will Stop Femicide Platform, said femicides were "political" -- and so was the lawsuit.
"This is a move against the platform which strongly condemned the withdrawal from the Istanbul convention. Therefore in our defence, we will explain to the judges why this case lacks legal grounds," she said.
Almost 300 lawyers from across Turkey expressed an interest in defending the group.
Aysun Kilic, from the bar association in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, said We Will Stop Femicide was conducting a careful, up-to-date study about murdered women.
"This is actually the duty of the state," she told AFP.
"While this is the case, we find the lawsuit unlawful, dangerous for women's rights and an attempt to undermine a study on women's killings. This case is harming us and our fight for women's rights," she said.
Melek Onder, another spokesperson of the group, remained defiant. "This legal action empowers us rather than weakens us," she told AFP.
"It's impossible to shut down this platform when women are still becoming victims of femicide," she said.
"We are not desperate at all because we know that they cannot stop our struggle."
O.Norris--AMWN