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Saturday Person Halil Şahin has lost his life. Şahin was the father of 36-year-old İsmail Şahin, who was detained on January 18, 1996 while working at the Municipality of Beyoğlu in İstanbul and was disappeared in custody.
For the past 23 years since his son's disappearance in 1996, Halil Şahin had been asking, "What happened to my son?".
According to a statement released by Saturday Mothers/People, Şahin was treated for cancer for a long time and he lost his life at Şişli Kolan Hospital where he was taken yesterday (September 30).
His funeral was held at Okmeydanı Djemevi in İstanbul today.
Asking the fate and whereabouts of her husband, Saturday Person Kiraz Şahin, the wife of İsmail Şahin, also died of cancer four years ago.
How was İsmail Şahin disappeared?İsmail Şahin was disappeared within his working hours while he was working as a cleaning worker at Beyoğlu Municipality. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the current President, was the İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor of the time. On October 18, 1996, Şahin started working at the cleaning vehicle with two colleagues of his at 6.30 a.m. When the vehicle reached the 11th point, namely Mimar Sinan University, his colleagues said that İsmail Şahin disappeared. The Şahin family applied to the Beyoğlu Municipality. They indicated that Şahin disappeared within working hours and the municipality was responsible as his employer. The family requested that the municipality inquire the incident. On these days, Beyoğlu Mayor Nusret Albayrak told Şahin family, "Wait for five years, if İsmail does not come back, we will pay you his accumulated money". The family appealed to the Beyoğlu Security Directorate and filed a missing person report. They also filed a criminal complaint to the prosecutor's office, demanding that the fate and whereabouts of Şahin be investigated. Despite all attempts and applications, the Şahin family could not meet the then İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Around the same time, Şahin's four-year-old daughter Sibel told her mother that she saw her father on TV with police officers. His wife Kiraz Şahin met the prime minister with other families in February 2011 and told him, "My husband was a worker of yours, he disappeared within working hours. The fate and whereabouts of İsmail Şahin is your responsibility as well". However, all legal attempts have remained inconclusive. The state has not fulfilled its responsibility of conducting an effective investigation and identifying the responsible parties. |
(EMK/SD)
