--- description: #OzgecanAslan and #sendeanlat have trended in response to the 20 year old's death title: Activists, Women Protest in Turkey After Brutal Murder image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13bf96074d5a2efe/69877f8ce20a8784c3a8523e/turkey-protest.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Turkish Student's Murder Sparks Anger Over Violence Against Women by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 17, 2015 2:22 PM CUT  A man holds a poster depicting slain Ozgecan Aslan during a march of members of Turkey's Bar Association to protest against a law that strenghtens the police's powe in Ankara, Turkey on Feb. 16, 2015. A man holds a poster depicting slain Ozgecan Aslan during a march of members of Turkey's Bar Association to protest against a law that strenghtens the police's powe in Ankara, Turkey on Feb. 16, 2015.Adem Altan—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 17, 2015 2:22 PM CUT The murder of a woman after resisting an attempted rapist has sparked mass protests in Turkey and prompted outcry on social media. Police say Ozgecan Aslan, a 20-year-old psychology student, was stabbed and beaten to death on a bus in Turkey’s Mersin province Wednesday when she pepper sprayed a man who tried to rape her, according to [_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/17/turkish-woman-ozgecan-aslans-sparks-anti-violence-campaign-sendeanlat "undefined"). Police arrested three men in connection with Aslan’s death, after recovering her burnt body from a riverbed Friday. The murder prompted nationwide protests and condemnation from local and national authorities. “Violence against women is the bleeding wound of our country,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan said Monday. Women also took to social media, where thousands have shared stories of their experiences with sexual violence and harassment, using the hashtag [#sendeanlat](http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%23sendeanlat&via=Topsy "undefined"), which translates to #tellyourstory. The hashtag was the third most popular in the world on Sunday, [ _Al Jazeera_ ](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/150216101649506.html "undefined")reports. The hashtag [#ozgecanaslan](http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%23ozgecanaslan&via=Topsy "undefined") also trended, with some 2.5 million tweets sent out by Monday. > [](https://twitter.com/diehimbeertonis/status/567458992990220289) > [](https://twitter.com/OutForBeyond/status/567350778034413568) > [](https://twitter.com/ewa%5Fzgrzywa/status/567251478281457664) > [](https://twitter.com/diehimbeertonis/status/567093077870141440) The U.S. Embassy to Turkey condemned the violent act Tuesday. > [](https://twitter.com/USEmbassyTurkey/status/567659128047161345) > [](https://twitter.com/USEmbassyTurkey/status/567659186498981889) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3711724/ozgecan-aslan-turkey-murder-sendeanlat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3711724/ozgecan-aslan-turkey-murder-sendeanlat/"},"headline":"Turkish Student's Murder Sparks Anger Over Violence Against Women","datePublished":"2015-02-17T14:22:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:28:18.466Z","description":"Ozgecan Aslan was murdered after resisting an attempted rapist","url":"https://time.com/3711724/ozgecan-aslan-turkey-murder-sendeanlat/","keywords":["Turkey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13bf96074d5a2efe/69877f8ce20a8784c3a8523e/turkey-protest.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13bf96074d5a2efe/69877f8ce20a8784c3a8523e/turkey-protest.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A man holds a poster depicting slain Ozgecan Aslan during a march of members of Turkey's Bar Association to protest against a law that strenghtens the police's powe in Ankara, Turkey on Feb. 16, 2015.","caption":"A man holds a poster depicting slain Ozgecan Aslan during a march of members of Turkey's Bar Association to protest against a law that strenghtens the police's powe in Ankara, Turkey on Feb. 16, 2015.","creditText":"Adem Altan—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3711724/ozgecan-aslan-turkey-murder-sendeanlat/","name":"Turkish Student's Murder Sparks Anger Over Violence Against Women"}}]}] ```