Woman who lost spouse, children in armed attack in Urfa briefly detained over sit-in protest

Emine Şenyaşar lost his family members in an attack by an AKP deputy's bodyguards and relatives in Urfa during the 2018 election campaign.

İstanbul

Woman who lost spouse, children in armed attack in Urfa briefly detained over sit-in protest

Photo: MA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Emine Şenyaşar, who had been staging a sit-in protest in front of the Urfa Courthouse for seven days, was detained today (March 15) for "insulting a public official," Mesopotamia Agency reported.

Şenyaşar lost his spouse and two children after a brawl between his family members and the relatives and bodyguards of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız during the 2018 election campaign turned into an armed clash.

Urfa Bar Association Chair Abdullah Öncel said, "They detained her to take her testimony over an allegation. I will follow this incident."

She was released a few hours later.

Ferit Şenyaşar, Emine Şenyaşar's son, continued the sit-in in front of the courthouse.

What happened?

The brawl 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 clash 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.

(EMK/VK)