Suruç Justice Platform denounces impunity on anniversary of 2015 bombing
The Suruç Justice Platform has criticized the handling of the investigation into the 2015 Suruç bombing in the southeastern province of Urfa, accusing authorities of shielding public officials and failing to pursue key evidence and ISIS connections.
In a statement marking the attack’s 11th anniversary, the group also called for the extradition of two fugitive defendants believed to be held in Syria.
The Suruç Justice Platform said the legal campaign pursued since Jul 20, 2015, had become “a struggle in which the responsibilities of the perpetrators and public officials were concealed.”
It said investigators did not establish how suicide bomber Şeyh Abdurrahman Alagöz reached Suruç, obtained bomb-making materials or received assistance while crossing the border.
The statement also raised allegations concerning the conduct of public officials before the bombing. Reports by Interior Ministry inspectors documented that police personnel in Adıyaman and Şanlıurfa had searched official databases for information about Alagöz before the attack, according to the platform.
No judicial or administrative proceedings were brought against those officers, it said.
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Mehmet Yapalıal, the Suruç district police chief at the time, was fined 7,500 liras for “neglect of duty and misconduct in office” over the failure to take routine security measures on the day of the bombing. The fine was ordered to be paid in 12 installments.
The platform also said five hours of security camera footage from the day of the attack were missing or had been deleted. It said no effective expert examination had been conducted to determine what happened to the recordings.
It added that the court had rejected requests to investigate information indicating that Balı received treatment at the Cihanbeyli State Hospital in Konya while he was sought by the police.
The bombing
Around 300 young people gathered outside the Amara Cultural Center in Suruç on Jul 20, 2015, following a call from the SGDF. They planned to take toys and humanitarian aid to the Kurdish town of Kobanî in northern Syria.
A suicide bomber attacked the group as participants prepared to make a press statement. Thirty-three people were killed and more than 100 were wounded.
Authorities identified Alagöz as the ISIS operative who carried out the bombing. A confidentiality order was imposed on the investigation on Jul 23, 2015, on the grounds that access to the documents could jeopardize the investigation.
The Şanlıurfa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment 18 months after the attack, seeking 104 aggravated life sentences for each of the three defendants.
The trial began at the Şanlıurfa 5th Heavy Penal Court on May 4, 2017, nearly 21 months after the bombing. Şahin, the only defendant in custody, did not attend the opening hearing.
On Oct 22, 2021, the court sentenced Şahin to 34 aggravated life terms and an additional 1,890 years in prison. Balı and Büyükçelebi remained fugitives in Syria. (VK)
