Relatives of Disappeared Will Form Justice Tribunal

The International Committee against Disappearances (ICAD), the Association for Solidarity and Support of Relatives of Disappeared People (YAKA-DER) and the Human Rights Association (İHD) have announced a common programme for the International Week of Disappearances in Custody.

On Saturday, 16 May, the week will start with the "Saturday Mothers" protest in front of the Galatasaray High School in central Istanbul.

The end of the programme on 31 May will be marked with the foundation of a justice tribunal.

The programme is as follows:

16 May: ICAD and members of the Socialist Platform for the Oppressed (ESP) will hold a sit-down protest in front of Galatasaray Highschool.

17 May: There will be a press statement made at the Altınşehir graveyard for the poor, where the body of Hasan Ocak was found, after he had disappeared in custody on 21 March 1995.

19 May: Commemoration of Ocak and Rıdvan Karakoç at their graves in the Gazi neighbourhood of Istanbul.

31 May: A march from the İHD Istanbul branch to the Galatasaray school. Tribunal of justice.

Ocak was taken into police custody on 21 March, after riots in the Gazi neighbourhood between 12 and 16 March 1996. After 55 days of trying to determine his whereabouts, his family and friends found his body on 17 May.

Following his death, an International Assembly against Disappearances in Custody was formed in 1996 and it decided to mark 17-31 May as an International Week against Disappearances in Custody.

The "Saturday Mothers" will be gathering at the Galatasaray Highschool for the 216th time this weekend, calling for justice for the disappearance of their relatives.

Following the protest at 12 o'clock, they will leave red carnations at the site. (BÇ/AG)