Families appeal court ruling in Suruç Massacre case
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Attorneys have appealed the court ruling on the 2015 Suruç Massacre, where an ISIS suicide bomber killed 33 people and wounded more than 100 in Suruç district of the mostly Kurdish-populated southeastern province of Urfa.
In the 21st hearing on Friday (October 22), the court sentenced Yakup Şahin, only defendant under arrest, to aggravated life imprisonment 34 times.
Families and attorneys of those who were killed and wounded in the explosion have criticized the court ruling, saying that the case was covered up with a single person blamed for the massacre.
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NOTE: On July 22, 2015, a group of people came together in Suruç as part of a campaign organized by the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) to bring toys and aid to children in Kobanî, a Syrian Kurdish town neighboring Urfa. The explosion occurred when the crowd gathered outside of the Amara Cultural Center for a presser. |
"In the case that was heard last Friday, the court board did injustice once again. It blamed the whole massacre on Yakup Şahin and declared him a villain," said Yasemin Boyraz, who lost her mother Nazegül Boyraz in the massacre. "Thus, it covered up an entire case. It covered up others who were responsible for the massacre."
"We know that if the Suruç Massacre solved, other massacres will be solved as well," she said.
"The defendant in the case of the Sultanahmet explosion also gave information about Suruç, but this wasn't taken into account.
"Also, Ahmet Davutoğlu [PM at the time of the massacre] stated that he knew some things, but the court did not find it necessary to hear him as a witness.
"It wasn't a fair trial for us. Justice is not served. This decision shouldn't mean that we'll give up our quest for justice.
"Meanwhile, the regional court found that the 33 massacred people were 50 percent at fault. It's unbelievable. We lost our lives and became culpable. We'll continue to struggle against all of them."
The appeal
An attorney for the Suruç Families Initiative, Sezgin Uçar, said they had opposed only one person standing trial or the massacre.
"New information about the case was coming all the time. Taking this information into account would reveal the other people responsible for the incident. However, the court did not consider any of our requests in this regard."
"As a result, the court closed the case by sentencing Yakup Şahin only. Moreover, it filed a criminal complaint against the families and lawyers. It claimed that we had threatened the court board. However, we wanted them to act lawfully, it considered this as an insult.
"We have taken this ruling to the court of appeals. If no result comes from there, we'll take it to the Court of Cassation. We'll take it to the ECtHR if we can't get results."
Demands of the attorneysThe Urfa 5th Heavy Penal Court should deepen the prosecution to investigate the massacre from all aspects. The hearing should be held in an appropriate courtroom other than the Hilvan Prison Campus and the pressures on those following the case should end. Defendant Yakup Şahin should be present in the courtroom and we, as the attorneys, should be able to ask him questions. Public officials who destroyed the images of the aftermath of the massacre should be identified and taken legal action against. Abdullah Ömer Arslan should be immediately arrested, considering tangible evidence against him. Necessary actions must be taken to apprehend fugitive suspects İlhami Bali and Deniz Büyükçelebi. The applications we made about the then president, prime minister, interior minister, national defense minister, commander of the General Staff and other public officials should not be rejected. |
(EMK/VK)