Racist attack on Kurdish family: Two more defendants released

Photo: Yeni Yaşam

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Two more defendants have been released in the case of a racist assault on a Kurdish family in Konya, central Turkey. Also, protection orders have been issued for 10 of the 60 people who carried out the attack.

On May 12, the assailants raided the home of the seven-people Dedeoğlulları family from Kars, threatening them "We are grey wolves, we won't let you live here," according to daily Yeni Yaşam.

They attacked family members with knives, stones and sticks. One member of the family had a brain hemorrhage and others were injured in the attack. Two days later, 10 people were detained and six of them were remanded in custody. Two of the defendants were released last month.

On July 9, the Konya 3rd Penal Judgeship of Peace ordered the release of two more defendants on probation at a detention review hearing. There are now two defendants behind bars.

As for the reasons for the verdict, the judgeship cited the suspects' injuries during the incident, that their criminal records were old dated, that they do agriculture and it is harvest season, that there is a possibility that the nature and attributes of the charged offense may change in favor of the suspects and the purpose of the suspects' arrest can also be achieved with judicial controls.

The attorney of the Dedeoğulları family, Abdurrahman Karabulut, said that they will appeal against both the release of the suspects and the protection order for them.

Barış Dedeoğulları told the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) that "Our home was raided. We were attacked, threatened. But the assailants now have a protection order for them. They comfortably come in front of our home, they yell, swear and go away."

"We have now given up hope on the police and law. Now I know much better that there is no justice for the Kurds," he said. (DŞ/VK)