Goekce (Deceased) v. Austria
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Comm. No. 5/2005, U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/39/D/5/2005 (2007)

- Written by Katrina Sumner, JD
Facts
Şahide Goekce (plaintiff) was a victim of domestic violence in Austria (defendant) perpetrated by her husband, Mustafa Goekce. Mustafa first assaulted Şahide by choking and threatening to kill her in 1999. Although Şahide alerted the police, who expelled Mustafa from the apartment, she did not authorize Mustafa’s prosecution for the threats and did not want to testify. Mustafa was acquitted of injuring Şahide for lack of evidence. Mustafa attacked Şahide again in 2000. Police arrived in time to witness the assault, and Şahide later stated that Mustafa had threatened to kill her. Police expelled Mustafa from the apartment and asked the public prosecutor to detain Mustafa. However, Şahide told the public prosecutor that she had experienced an epileptic seizure and depression and denied Mustafa’s threats. Thus, the public prosecutor declined to detain Mustafa and halted the proceedings. Police responded to calls to Şahide’s apartment five additional times between 2001 and 2002. Another attack occurred in 2008, for which police expelled Mustafa from the apartment for a third time because Şahide reported that Mustafa had choked and threatened to kill her. Şahide pressed charges, and the police again asked the public prosecutor to detain Mustafa. A court issued an interim injunction preventing Mustafa from returning home for three months, but Şahide gave him a key. When the public prosecutor questioned Şahide about the assault, Şahide explained her injury and stated that Mustafa had threatened to kill her with regularity over the years. Therefore, the public prosecutor assumed that Mustafa’s threats were just a normal part of the couple’s arguments that would not be acted on and dropped the charges. The next day, Mustafa shot and killed Şahide with a gun he had purchased despite being on a prohibitive hold. Şahide had called the police hours earlier, but no officers were sent. Mustafa was prosecuted for Şahide’s murder. An organization authored a communication on Şahide’s behalf, alleging violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the convention). Austria denied violating the convention or discriminating against Şahide as a woman, arguing that it had a comprehensive system designed to fight domestic violence and that Şahide was not protected because she did not cooperate with authorities. Austria also argued that detention must be evaluated considering a perpetrator’s rights to freedom of movement and a fair trial.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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