Şenyaşar family: Minister of Justice disregards the persecution against us

The Justice Vigil which was launched on March 9 in front of the courthouse in Urfa by Emine Şenyaşar, who lost her husband and two sons in an armed attack in Suruç district of Urfa on 14 June 2018 that involved the bodyguards and relatives of AKP Deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız, and her son Ferit Şenyaşar who was injured in the same attack, marks its 246th day.

The family wants the murderers to receive the punishment they deserve and family member Fadıl Şenyaşar who remains in prison to be released.

Ferit Şenyaşar recalled that AKP Deputy Yıldız and his relatives attacked their workplace and that his two brothers and father were murdered at a state hospital. He revealed that the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor divided the case into two separate files.

NO HOSPITAL FILE

Şenyaşar underlined that his family members were murdered in the state hospital. “My father and brothers were killed in the state hospital, yet even the records of the hospital disappeared. While the attorney general is supposed to evaluate the case in a single file, he opened two different files and the hospital file is still missing. He just launched a file about the incident at our shop and sentenced my brother to imprisonment under political pressure. Although the murderers of my father and my brothers are the same people, the hospital case has not been opened so far. It has been more than 3 years since the massacre, and it is a serious crime that no steps have been taken concerning the hospital file.”

‘WE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE’

Şenyaşar emphasized that the prosecutors do not deal with the incident in detail since a top member and deputy of the ruling party are among the perpetrators of the massacre. “Prosecutors do not initiate legal action in relation to the hospital file because this issue is out of their depth. That’s why we started a justice vigil with my mother in front of the courthouse. This vigil is not just a sit-in. After all, we are struggling for justice. During our vigil, we were detained 5 times, and our detention was postponed 2 times since we were beaten by the police and hospitalized. Our latest detention was a complete scandal. The Urfa Police Department head took us into custody without a court decision. When our lawyers spoke to the prosecutor, he said that he was not aware of the detention decision.”

‘MINISTER TALKS ABOUT JUSTICE AT PUBLIC EVENTS’

Şenyaşar said that they are determined to further carry out their struggle for justice. “When those who murdered our relatives walk freely in public, we cannot stay at home. We are continuing our struggle here with my mother. The police and the prosecutor are doing their best to remove us from here. For this, they tried all methods: detentions, penalty fine, beating and torture… As we have continued our struggle despite all this, prosecutors have recently sued my mother for insulting a public official. They demand up to 4 years in prison for my mother. The whole world is watching this lawlessness and injustice. The minister of justice attends public events and talks about ‘justice’ but ignores the persecution against us.”