The Ankara Courthouse has charged eight women activists of Free Women’s Movement (TJA) with being members of a terrorist organisation and arrested them, Mezopotamya News Agency reports.

Women gathered in several cities throughout Turkey on 25 November, the Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, and faced police blockades and resistance. Two hundred women were beaten and detained, while one woman suffered a broken leg due to police brutality in Istanbul.

Following the detentions, Turkish police raided the homes of 20 TJA members in Diyarbakır (Amed), Istanbul, Muş, Ağrı (Agirî) and detained the women activists on 29 November.

Eighteen women were subjected to handcuff torture for 36 hours and mistreatment until they were brought to Ankara.

Figen Aras, Figen Ekti, Mekiye Ormancı, Didar Çeşme, Bedia Akkaya, Hatice Güngör, Hülya Kınağu and Gülistan Dehşet have been faced with a lawsuit on accusations of “managing a terrorist organisation” and “acting on behalf of a terrorist organisation”.

After the trial, eight women activists were sent to Turkish jails, while 12 women were put under house arrest.

UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem had said that women’s rights are at serious risk in Turkey as a result of the country backtracking on its obligations secured by the Istanbul Convention which was cancelled by the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP).