Testimonies of "Return to Life" Eye Witnesses

Bekir Şimşek, one of the complainants in the trial on the "return to life" operation, claimed in yesterday's hearing (26 November) that the people actually responsible for the incident were not the defendants currently at court.

The trial is concerned with the incidents in the Bayrampaşa (Istanbul) prison during the "return to life" operation on 19-22 December 2000. The police violently ended the "death fasts" of hundreds of political prisoners who had protested against a transfer from large wardens to F-type cells with only 3 or 4 prisoners. Twelve detained and convicted prisoners died in the Bayrampaşa Prison in the course of the operation.

The victims of the incident gave their statements in the second hearing before the Bakırköy (Istanbul) 13^th High Criminal Court. 27 of the 39 un-detained defendants attended the hearing as well as the complainants and the lawyers of both parties.

Eye witness Ahmet Taner who was imprisoned at the time of the incident stated, "We did not want to go to F type prisons. They are places of torture. Military and civil bureaucrats are responsible for this operation".

Acquisition of video footage

Complainant Dinçer Otluçimen recalled, "I was not anticipation the operation at all. I did not hear the call to surrender either. The men were in the air conditioning shaft of the cell. Our friend Fırat was sprayed with gunfire after he had set himself on fire to force an end to the operation".

The joint attorneys filed a criminal complaint against the Eyüp Public Chief Prosecution which carried out the investigation into the incident under charges of "neglect of duty". They requested the acquisition of all related procedures particularly regarding Prosecutor Doğan Karakoç, then Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Türk, Minister of the Interior Sadettin Tantan and Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Ferzan Çtici. The request was accepted.

The court announced that an investigation had previously been launched into former Minister of Justice Türk, Minister of the Interior Tantan, Gendarmerie General Commander Aytaç Yalman, Prosecutor Çitici, Prison Prosecutor Fikret Ünalan, Bayrampaşa Prison Commander Captain Zeki Bingöl, the manager and vice manager of the prison, the Ankara Gendarmerie Special Public Order Command, the Bayrampaşa Prison and Halkalı Gendarmerie Protection Battalion Command and the European Side Members Division Command.

The court declared that the investigations carried out by the Eyüp (Istanbul) Public Chief Prosecution in 2007 and 2009 were merged because of actual and legal connections by decisions dated 14.02.2008 and 17.02.2010. The court asked about what kind of procedures were carried out and about the outcome of the probe.

Furthermore, the court demanded the acquisition of the Bayrampaşa Prison Special Intervention Plan dated 15 December 2000. It was decided to issue a writ to the General Staff Presidency of the Operation Office, the Gendarmerie General Command, the Gendarmerie Regional Command and the Istanbul Gendarmerie Provincial Command in order to obtain information on the names, ranks and duties of the gendarmerie officers appointed to the operation. Moreover, the court decided to acquit the video records of the incident.

Arrest warrants for absent defendants

Defendants Hasan Köse, Yakup Yağcı, Asim Bulut, Murat Yılmaz, Abdullah Pala, Orhan Durgut and Musa Tarhan did not attend the hearing. The addresses of absent defendants Bayram Mavi, Mustafa Ece and Yusuf Aktepe could not be confirmed. The court decided to issue arrest warrants in their names. Three defendants did not attend the hearing despite a subpoena. The court decided to bring them in on compulsion.

Ercan Kartal, imprisoned leader of the Party and Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of the Turkish People (DHKP-C) who was also incarcerated during the "return to life" operation, and five further victims applied to court to attend the hearing as witnesses. However, the court dismissed their request and decided to take their statements upon an according directive. (BT/VK)