HDP: They want to close the Deniz Poyraz murder case

* Photo: HDP İzmir

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

A press statement about the killing of Deniz Poyaz was held in Turkey's Aegean province of İzmir today (October 25).

Poyraz was killed in an armed attack against the İzmir Provincial Office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on June 16, 2021.

At the press statement held by the HDP Law and Human Rights Commission members and the lawyers of the case, Commission Member Türkan Aslan Ağaç, Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) lawyer İmdat Ataş and other lawyers shared information about the judicial process.

'A consensus to not investigate the murder'

Lawyer Aslan Ağaç said that the indictment about the incident was approved by the İzmir 6th High Criminal Court and a lawsuit has been filed:

"The political power holders and law enforcement, in a great harmony and determination, worked in a tacit consensus to not have the political murder investigated in its all dimensions. Before and during the incident, the law enforcement was in a great weakness.

"The fact that the law enforcement was late for an attack against the third biggest party of Turkey in the third biggest city of Turkey, that there was no intervention during the incident and that there was negligence in collecting the evidence can be defined as a chain of weaknesses. The same negligence can also be observed in similar political attacks."

'The chain of weaknesses of the law enforcement'

Türkan Aslan Ağaç listed the following "chain of weaknesses":

• Plain-clothes Counterterrorism and security branch police officers did not prevent the attack even though they were in front of the building where the attack was carried out.
• Before the necessary examination to be undertaken in the entire building, people on other floors were allowed to enter and/ or leave the building. In fact, based on the radio chatter of the law enforcement, it is known that the murderer moved from one floor to the other.
• There is no information as to whether there was a person or persons at the business center who aided the assailant. The law enforcement has done no inquiries about this.
• At the provincial building where the attack took place, the organization room was not opened and no examination was carried out. In the examination that we conducted later on, a bullet was found there.
• This process was completed in a short time without taking the Historical Traffic Search (HTS) records or collecting evidence.
• No question was asked at the security directorate about the assailant's relations. The first question asked to the murderer there was about who he was and the other three questions were about his medical condition. Then, the interrogation was recessed. The other questions asked were not about bringing the incident into light.
• The people who were identified by the first phone examination and who should have been detained together with the assailant were summoned to give their statements as witnesses later on.
• The materials that were found in the bag which the assailant had with him were not recorded in a list, which raises suspicions that some evidence was spoiled.
• Why was he later given 200 TRY at the police station even though the murderer had 100 TRY on him? Who gave this money to the murderer and why was it recorded?
• When the pictures of the assailant taken at the security directorate are examined, it is seen that he was not held in a detention room.
• We detected that while the assailant was at the security directorate, his Instagram posts were deleted. No examination has been undertaken while we have requested an examination of all these.
• No action has been taken against the person who owns the number to which the phone calls to be received by the assailant's phone were directed according to the HTS examinations of the law enforcement.
• Another interesting point about the examination of the HTS records is that a day before the massacre, the murderer called the İzmir Security Directorate. We requested that the voice recordings showing whom he called at the security directorate be cited in the case file; however, there are no voice recordings, according to the answer given.
• It has been understood that the assailant did an examination inside and outside our building before. When the HTS records are examined, it is understood from the base signals that the murderer came to the scene of the incident several times. The law enforcement has undertaken no inquiries about this issue.
• It has been understood that the murderer did not go to the workplace before the massacre and was considered to be resigned. A person who is a public officer constantly took a taxi for 1.5 years. It has been understood that he went from Gaziemir to Turgutlu Urgan and to several other places by taxi. He stayed at hotels several times and was especially offered SPA service at Kaya Thermal facility. We know that he would constantly eat out and keep taxis waiting. It has been understood that the assailant did not sustain his living with his salary for the past 2.5 months. However, the law enforcement has concluded that his income and expenditure were proportional.
• Even though the law enforcement has indicated that the inquiries about the 950 people who are registered in the phone are ongoing, the court case has been filed despite the shortcomings.
• The indictment has cited the conclusion that the person has no organizational ties.
• The prosecutor's office has filed the court case without waiting for the autopsy report. The court case has been filed with the file closed without collecting evidence and before the expected evidence arrived.

'His relations with the SADAT not investigated'

Further in her statement, Türkan Aslan Ağaç said that "the indictment was lodged with the political dimension of the case being ignored."

According to the lawyer, "while the assailant's relation with terrorist organizations and structures as per the Anti-Terror Law no. 3713 may not be identified, it has also not been investigated whether he has relations with criminal organizations or structures which have been within the state."

Referring to their requests for finding out whether the assailant has relations with the International Defense Consulting Construction Industry and Trade Inc. (SADAT), Aslan Ağaç said that "the only thing done by the law enforcement was to investigate it in an interactive environment."

The lawyer said that no examination was conducted in the ultranationalist 'idealists' (Grey Wolves) circles where the assailant was involved.

'Assailant noy caught, but turned himself in'

Lawyer İmdat Ataş stated, "The fact that this murder was not prevented and had attitudes that are almost of intentional character indicates that this murder is political." The lawyer underlined that "despite all posts and statements of the person indicating that he was preparing for an attack on the HDP, this attack was not prevented." He said, "The perpetrator was not caught, but he turned himself in after carrying out the attack."

Lawyer Ataş added, "It is understood why he was sent to prison 24 hours later and why there is a desire to close the case in a short time. What has been happening shows us that the attack was not individual; on the contrary, it was organized. (AS/SD)