Şenyaşar family seeks justice for 150 days

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Emine Şenyaşar lost her spouse and two sons in an attack launched by the security guards and relatives of İbrahim Yıldız from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Urfa. She and her son Ferit Şenyaşar, who survived the attack, have been demanding justice for 150 days.

There were two court cases about the massacre committed on June 14, 2018. In the case regarding the attack in Şenyaşars' shop, the court gave its ruling on April 2, 2021. Having acted in self-defense of his family, Fadıl Şenyaşar has been sentenced to 37 years, 9 months in prison.

The investigation into the attack at Suruç Public Hospital has not yet been concluded. 3 years have passed since then and the prosecutor of the investigation has changed 8 times without the file being opened.

The Şenyaşar family started keeping a "justice watch" in front of the Urfa Courthouse in southeastern Turkey on March 9, 2021. Since then, both Emine Şenyaar and Ferit Şenyaşar have been subjected to police violence several times and detained six times in total.

Speaking to Emrullah Acar from Mezopotamya Agency (MA) about their watch for the past 5 months, Ferit Şenyaşar has said, "When we started protesting, we hoped that our protest would last short and justice would be served. But it has not turned out the way we thought it would."

'Till justice is served...'

Ferit Şenyaşar has said that their justice watch will continue until justice is finally served. "When we began the justice watch, it was cold; we now continue struggling in scorching summer heat," he has said, adding:

"The color of our skin, the color of our clothes has changed in sun; the papers on which we wrote justice have worn out, the writing has faded away but the expectation for justice cannot be met. We continue to struggle in oppression and we are determined to do so until justice is served."

'There are prosecutors protecting murderers'

Ferit Şenyaşar has recalled that they have been detained six times and battered several times during this process, adding that they have still not given up on their struggle for justice. He has briefly added:

"At the courthouse, it is me and my mother who are at the forefront; but we know that there are millions of people behind us. We have never felt alone and will never do so while sitting in front of the courthouse.

"Everyone paying visits of support have been struggling so that justice is served but no one is there to hear us. The rule of law is not operating. There are prosecutors protecting the murderers. Everyone who is a party to this crime will be brought to account before the law one day."

Ferit Şenyaşar has also said that he wrote a 3-stanza poem about the injustice they have been subjected to: "I would read books before the justice watch, but writing a book never occured to me. This process that we have gone through has led us to do this. We will write a book about what we have lived through in the future and ensure that it will not be forgotten."

What happened?

During the election campaign of ruling AKP Urfa MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız in Suruç, Urfa on June 14, 2018, an attack turned into an armed conflict, which claimed the lives of Yıldız's brother Mehmet Şah Yıldız, shop owner Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar and his sons Adil and Celal Şenyaşar.

Having lost his father and two brothers and been wounded himself in the incident, Fadıl Şenyaşar was discharged from hospital and detained on June 17. He was then arrested and sent to prison.

Demanding justice for two sons, husband and her arrested son, Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit Şenyaşar, who survived the attack, have been keeping a "justice watch" in front of the courthouse. (RT/SD)