Protest at Funeral of Torturer Colonel Raci Tetik: May His Fire Abound in Hell

* Photograph: Twitter

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Colonel Raci Tetik, who was the Director of Mamak Military Prison in Ankara during the military coup period in 1980 and died at the age of 88 on April 27, was protested at his funeral in İstanbul yesterday (April 29).

Though it was previously announced that his funeral prayer would be performed at İstanbul Selimiye Mosque, the prayer took place at Şakirin Mosque. It was also formerly indicated that he would be buried after a military ceremony. The military ceremony did not take place, either.

While the coffin of Tetik was covered with a flag of Turkey at his funeral at Şakirin Mosque, the funeral was attended by his friends and relatives.

A group of people held in the Mamak Prison during the military junta of September 12, 1980 staged a protest, shouting the slogan, "May your fire abound in hell." During the protest, tension arose between the friends and relatives of Tetik and the protesting group.

Having taken security measures around the mosque, the police intervened in the incident and drew the group away from the area.

After the funeral prayer was performed, the dead body of Tetik was taken to Tuzla Şifa Graveyard to be buried.

The following video has been shared about the protests:

12 Eylül darbe döneminde Mamak Cezaevi'nde işkence emirleri veren emekli Albay Raci Tetik'in cenaze töreninde bir grup protesto gösterisi yaptı. pic.twitter.com/H3lnDNRFUQ

— Ensonhaber.com (@ensonhaber) 29 Nisan 2019

Tetik considered chief responsible of tortures in Mamak

Raci Tetik was the Commander of Mamak Military Prison in Ankara during the military coup of September 12, 1980. Considered to be the chief responsible of tortures in the prison, which also caused the death of publisher İlhan Erdost, Tetik defended the inhumane practices by saying, "I enforced discipline." Though a lawsuit was filed against him years later, the case was dropped due to the violation of statute of limitations in 2013.

In an interview to daily Milliyet in 1988, Tetik said, "I am a torturer, they used me by flattering me." He also added, "I put the regulations and laws into practice. It was a prison, not a hospital, school, a love ship or a yacht club. It is a war. In war, there are not only good things happening. They were not brought into line with words. I do not hide it, it happened. But, why are they resisting? Why are they resisting the instruction of the state?"

He was interrogated by Coup Investigation Committee

On October 20, 2012, when the lawsuit against Colonel Tetik had not yet been dropped, he was also interrogated by Nimet Baş, the Chair of Parliamentary Commission Investigating Military Coups. Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Atilla Kaya from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) were also members of the commission.

When Önder asked Tetik about the torture he was subjected to during the coup period, he answered, "I don't remember." To the question of MHP MP Kaya "When you look back in all your conscience, do you feel any sorrow or remorse?", Tetik answered, "No". (HA/SD)