Fadıl Şenyaşar, Whose Father and Brothers Have Been Killed in Suruç, Arrested

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Fadıl Şenyaşar, who lost his father and two brothers in the armed attack and conflict in the district of Suruç in Turkey's southeastern province of Urfa, has been arrested.

Fadıl Şenyaşar, who was also wounded in the attack, was taken into custody at the Diyarbakır Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, from which he was discharged after the completion of his treatment yesterday (June 17).

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency, Fadıl Şenyaşar was taken from Diyarbakır to Urfa and gave his deposition to the Prosecutor's Office. After his deposition, Şenyaşar was arrested by the court he was referred to.

The state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) has written that Fadıl Şenyaşar has been arrested with the allegation that he is the suspect for the murder of Mehmet Şah Yıldız, the brother of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Urfa MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız.

The Anadolu Agency has also reported that the case files of the 19 people, who have been taken into custody as part of the investigation and among whom is also the Urfa MP candidate of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İsmail Kaplan, have been separated.

What happened?

The dispute that erupted during the election works of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Urfa MP and MP candidate İbrahim Halil Yıldız in the district of Suruç in Turkey's southeastern province of Urfa turned into an armed attack and conflict on June 14, 2018.

The dispute began when the AKP Urfa MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız and those accompanying him started to visit the shops in the district of Suruç as part of their election campaign. After the shop owner Esvet Şenyaşar ordered the group out of his shop, a quarrel erupted between the two sides.

With the escalation of the quarrel, the guards of the AKP MP Yıldız shot Adil Şenyaşar, the son of Esvet Şenyaşar, in his leg. After hearing that his brother had been shot, Fadıl Şenyaşar came to the shop with a weapon and opened fire on the relatives and guards of Yıldız. In the armed conflict that erupted, the AKP MP Yıldız's brother Mehmet Şah Yıldız and the sons of Esvet Şenyaşar, Celal Şenyaşar and Fadıl Şenyaşar, were wounded.

The wounded were taken to the hospital after this incident. Mehmet Şah Yıldız lost his life at the hospital which he was referred to. Adil Şenyaşar and Celal Şenyaşar were killed inside the Suruç Public Hospital where they were taken for treatment. The father Esvet Şenyaşar was also attacked at the entrance to the hospital and lost his life.

After the attacks ended, three people from the family of Şenyaşar, namely the shop owner Esvet Şenyaşar and his sons Adil Şenyaşar and Celal Şenyaşar, and one person from the family of Yıldız, namely the brother of the AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız, Mehmet Şah Yıldız, lost their lives. On June 17, the son of Esvet Şenyaşar, Fadıl Şenyaşar was arrested in relation with the death of Mehmet Şah Yıldız. (BK/SD)

*Photograph: Kerem Kocalar / Suruç / Anadolu Agency