'Families' Demand for Justice Responded with Torment'

"We demand justice"

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The trial of Çorlu train derailment, which claimed the lives of 25 people, including 7 children, and injured 340 others on July 8, 2018, began at the Çorlu 1st Heavy Penal Court in Tekirdağ today (July 3).

After it was alleged that "the relatives of the deceased were battered before the first hearing upon the instruction of the court," the court board has decided to withdraw from the case. The Contemporary Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) has informed that the file of the case has been sent to the upper court, the Çorlu 2nd Heavy Penal Court, for evaluation.

'Families were waiting for this day for a year'

Speaking to bianet about the issue, Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD) İstanbul Branch Chair Gökmen Yeşil has stated that the court's decision of withdrawal was unexpected, adding that it is something negative for the families who were waiting for this day for a year:

"They kept people waiting in front of the court hall for a long time before the hearing. The air conditioners in the corridors where they were kept waiting were closed, they wanted to allow them into the hall by checking their identities one by one. The doors were opened as a result of reactions, but families remained outside. We went inside, but the court board had not yet arrived. After the doors were opened and people were taken in, we waited for the board for almost an hour.

"Ahmet Can, whose 6-year-old son died, and İsmail Kartal, who lost his mother and father, were left outside the court hall. The battery took place. The door was pushed and broken down. When we went outside the hall, police officers started battering us, the families were battered as well. Esra Kartal fainted, she was crushed in the commotion, attorneys were battered. Hüseyin Şahin, who lost his 18-year-old son Serhat, was battered.

"After some time, all families entered the hall. We, then, stated that we would file a criminal complaint regarding this battery and against the responsible parties. In response, the board stated, 'We are withdrawing from the case if it is thought that we gave the instruction.' They sent the file to the Çorlu 2nd Heavy Penal Court to give verdict on the case.

"Their withdrawal from the file was an unexpected decision for us. Hundreds of families were waiting for this day for almost a year. They would get their points across for the first time. The board could not bear this hearing, it was inexperienced. They responded to this demand of families with torment. They could not carry out the file... It is a negative decision for families."

Oğuz Arda Sel'in annesi Mısra Öz Sel duruşma sonrası fenalık geçirdi. Ailelerin isyanı adliye önünde sürüyor. #CorluTrenKatliamı pic.twitter.com/LT1BVDJNYQ

— Rıfat Doğan (@RifatDogann) 3 Temmuz 2019

'They battered the families and attorneys'

Not all of those who lost their loved ones in the derailment or wanted to watch the hearing could enter the court hall, which caused a commotion in front of the hall. Police officers waiting at the door battered the families of the deceased. With the intervention of the attorneys, the families could enter the court hall. The first hearing of the case started at 11 a.m.

Before the court identified the defendants, the attorneys of the families presented their statements as to what happened before the hearing.

Attorney Mürsel Ünder stated the following at court:

"We told you over and over again that the hearing would be crowded due to the high number of complainants and the social nature of the file, but you did not accept. We cannot regard it as a favor that a conference hall was allocated for the families who lost their loved ones in this massacre."

"Though it is not within your jurisdiction, you still need to know that we wanted to come here by marching as of 9 a.m. However, all through the march, the families who lost their loved ones were treated as criminals by the police. Just because they demand justice...

"After some of us could, ultimately, enter, the doors of the court hall were locked before you opened the hearing or a confidentiality order was given for the file. You committed the offense of false imprisonment for the ones inside.

"They battered the families who were left outside and us, the lawyers. You did not see that. We are telling you. Our clients will tell you as well. We are filing a criminal complaint against the responsible parties to you and to the Public Prosecutor. It is within your jurisdiction."

Court has withdrawn from the case

While the criminal complaints of attorneys Mürsel Ünder and Can Atalay were rejected by the court, armed police officers were taken out of the court hall upon the request of attorneys.

The court has withdrawn from the case stating that "there are allegations that the relatives of the deceased were battered upon our instruction." The file of the case has been sent to the upper court, the Çorlu 2nd Heavy Penal Court, to examine the court's withdrawal from the case.

Zeliha Bilgin, who lost her sister, two nieces and nephews and her daughter in the derailment, attended today's hearing with the torn down jeans of her daughter. Photograph: Melda Onur

About the indictment

Four employees of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), namely Turgut Kurt, Özkan Polat, Çetin Yıldırım and Celaleddin Çabuk, were going to have their first hearings today. They are charged with "reckless killing and injury."

The Prosecutor's Office previously gave a verdict of non-prosecution for train drivers Halil Altınkaya and Suat Şahin, train chief Hüseyin Kahraman, the suspected senior executives of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), politicians and bureaucrats on the ground of lack of evidence. (AS/SD)