Justified Decision on ‘Return to Life’: Soldiers Shot Gendarmerie Kurt to Death

It has been fixed by court’s justified decision that Gendarmerie Specialized Sergeant Çavuş Nurettin Kurt killed during “Return to Life Operation” at Ümraniye Prison was killed by soldiers who launched the operation.

Ayça Söylemez

Justified Decision on ‘Return to Life’: Soldiers Shot Gendarmerie Kurt to Death

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Justified decision of the trial about the operation launched against Ümraniye prison on December 19, 2000 has been declared.

The decision stated that Gendarmerie Specialized Sergeant Çavuş Nurettin Kurt who joined the operation was killed by soldiers.

There is no evidence that inmates were responsible for killing of prisoners Muharrem Buldukoğlu and Haydar Akbaba burned to death, the decision added.

During the week of December 19-26, 2000, 10,000 Turkish soldiers violently occupied 48 prisons to end two months of hunger strikes and "death fasts" by hundreds of political prisoners. The hunger strikers are protesting the state's plan to transfer its prisoners from large wards to US-style "F-type" cells holding one to three occupants.

Operation "Return to Life" -- which left at least 31 prisoners and two soldiers dead -- lasted a few hours in most prisons, and up to three days at one prison. Eight prisoners are reportedly "disappeared", and at least 426 prisoners have been wounded.

1,005 prisoners have been transferred to F-type cells. The armed operation ostensibly aimed to "rescue" members of illegal, radical left organizations from "forced" starvation at the hands of their leaders. But the official number of prisoners conducting death fasts has reportedly increased to 353 since the operation, up from 282.

Unofficial reports say that up to 2,000 prisoners are starving themselves, with the active support of 10,000 others.

However, the indictment claimed that Kurt and prisoners were killed by inmates.

Autopsy and forensic medicine report

Forensic Medicine Institute has determined based on the autopsy report dated on October 16, 2002 of Nurettin Kurt that he was killed by high kinetic energy weapons such as G-3, Kalashnikov, which were used by security forces as Forensic Medicine Institute reports in the other file.

The trial in which gendarmeries who participated in the operation leading to killings of prisoners is continuing.

Lawyer Güçlü Sevimli said he will submit this justified decision to the other trial as well.

Decision after 15 years

Decision was made on January 22, 2016 in the trial in which Bora and Atmaca plans were executed on December 19, 2000.

All defendants have been acquitted in the suit brought against 399 prisoners who suffered from the operation on the charges regarding deaths of three soldiers of whom one was a soldier.

İstanbul Anadolu 5th Heavy Penal Court has ruled acquittal of prisoners tried for “it is determined that they didn’t commit the murders”, thus it was proven that it was soldiers who were responsible for the killings in the prison. (AS/TK)

return to life return to life operation ümraniye prison bora and atmaca operations

Ayça Söylemez

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Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Felsefe Bölümü mezunu. Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi Sosyoloji bölümünde yüksek lisans yaptı. Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Bilimleri’nde doktora yapıyor. Vatan, Akşam, HaberTürk ve Hürriyet gazetelerinin yazıişleri ve dış haberler bölümünde çalıştı. Güncel Hukuk dergisinde yazıları yayınlandı. BirGün’de Anonim adlı köşeyi yazıyor. 2011’den bu yana bianet’te İnsan Hakları Editörü.