Trag£dy: Female Judge Sh0t By Ex-Husband Inside Courthouse During Court Proceedings

Tragedy: Female Judge Shot By Ex-Husband Inside Courthouse During Court Proceedings

A female judge was seriously injured on Tuesday after being shot by her former husband inside a courthouse in Istanbul, an attack that has reignited debate about the safety of women even within judicial institutions in Turkey.

The shooting occurred around 1:00 pm local time inside a courtroom at the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals on the Asian side of the city.

Turkish media reported that the assailant opened fire during court proceedings, causing panic among staff, lawyers and members of the public present at the time.

As reported by Euronews, the victim was identified by local newspaper Sözcü as Judge Aslı Kahraman, who sustained a gunshot wound to the groin and suffered severe injuries. Reports said the suspect, Muhammet Çağatay Kılıçaslan, a public prosecutor and her former partner, attempted to fire a second shot but was stopped before he could do so.

A man serving tea inside the courtroom intervened and restrained the attacker. Authorities later confirmed that the individual was a prisoner on day release who had been assigned to work at the courthouse.

His action prevented further harm, according to police sources. Judge Kahraman received first aid at the scene before she was rushed to hospital for treatment. Officials later said her condition was stable following medical care.

Kılıçaslan was arrested at the courthouse shortly after the shooting and was expected to face legal proceedings. Security agencies sealed off parts of the court complex as investigators gathered evidence and interviewed witnesses.

The incident drew swift condemnation from women’s rights organisations, particularly the We Will Stop Femicides platform.

In a statement: “A female judge was shot with a firearm by her former husband, a prosecutor, in full view of everyone at the Istanbul Kartal Anatolian Courthouse, the very place where perpetrators should be punished.”

The group added, “Women can be shot with firearms even inside courthouses.”

Advocacy groups linked the attack to a broader pattern of violence against women in Turkey. They argue that such incidents have increased since the country withdrew from the Istanbul Convention in 2021.

The convention obliges signatory states to adopt legal and institutional measures to prevent and prosecute gender based violence.

Turkey does not publish official data on femicides. Figures compiled by We Will Stop Femicides show that in 2025, 294 women were killed by men, while 297 others died under suspicious circumstances.

The group reported that more than a third of those killed were murdered by their husbands, and firearms were used in over half of the cases.