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Turkish Riot Police Break Up Women’s Protest


Protesters, mostly women, display various placards calling to end violence towards women, and chant slogans during a rally in central Istanbul, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.
Protesters, mostly women, display various placards calling to end violence towards women, and chant slogans during a rally in central Istanbul, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.

Turkish riot police used force to break up a march by thousands of women calling for what they call an "end to impunity" for men guilty of violence against women.

Police stopped more than 2,000 from marching up Istikal Street in Istanbul’s main shopping district.

Police fired pepper spray at the protesters with some witnesses reporting the use of tear gas and plastic bullets. No casualties or arrests were reported.

March organizers say they are tired at what they believe are the relatively light sentences handed out to husbands and boyfriends who murder or abuse women.

Women at the front of Monday's march spread out a banner reading "We cannot tolerate the loss of one more woman."

A Turkish women's rights group says nearly 380 women have been killed so far this year.

A Turkish court recently sentenced a man to life in prison for slashing his ex-wife’s throat in front of their 10 year-old daughter in August.

The murder was caught on video and sickened nearly everyone who saw it.

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