Şenyaşar family maintains their resistance despite police attack

The Justice Vigil of Emine Şenyaşar, who lost her husband and two sons in the 14 June 2018 massacre by AKP Deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız’s bodyguard and relatives in the Suruç district of Urfa, and his son Ferit Şenyaşar, who was injured in the incident, is now on day 241. Despite being on serum, mother Emine Şenyaşar, who went to the hospital due to health reasons, continued her protest returning to the courthouse.

Claiming that the serum was a “sham,” the police yelled at the officers who did not intervene with the family, and asked, “Should I intervene? Force them to the hospital. This ain’t a hospital, it’s a Courthouse!” The police then attempted to take Mother Şenyaşar to the hospital with an ambulance that had been called in front of the courthouse. “Take me to prison,” mother Şenyaşar said in response to the police attack.

The mother and son, who refused to be transferred to the hospital, delivered a statement against the blockage in the area known as “Şenyaşar family justice corner” with their lawyers. Mother Emine Şenyaşar grieved for several minutes, her serum-bound hand outstretched. In the statement, a banner with the photographs of Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar and his sons Adil and Celal, who were killed in the massacre, was unfurled, with the words “Father and two sons were murdered in front of everyone in a state hospital.”

Ferit Şenyaşar stated that he and his mother have been on vigil demanding justice for 8 months and said, “For the past eight months, a mother has been waiting outside the Urfa Courthouse. In the state hospital, her husband and two of her sons were murdered. For the past eight months, prosecutors have avoided us. The file prosecutor has now been placed on indefinite leave. They are trying to avoid us. The attorney general runs out the back door every time we enter the courthouse. Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice is talking of justice,” he said.

Referring to the health problems of his mother Emine Şenyaşar, he continued, “The doctors told her to rest but my mom is unable to do so. A mother’s presence here is a source of embarrassment for everyone. I am addressing the bar associations. Put an end to this disgrace. It’s entirely your responsibility. My mother is unable to eat. She is on a serum treatment. The cops are intervening, and one official who has lost his prudence refers to the serum as a ‘sham.’”

Then Şenyaşar spilt two bags of medicine of his mother Emine Şenyaşar on the floor and continued: “Are these just a ‘sham’? Are these drugs a ‘sham’? What about the hospital report? Would you sit right here for 8 months for a sham? My mother is 65 years old. Have some empathy. How long will this last? As long as my mother is sitting here, no one has the right to talk of justice. Enough is enough. My mother doesn’t want to die here. A solution has to be found to this injustice as soon as possible.”

The mother and son went to the Justice corner to continue the Justice Vigil following the statement.