Suruç Families Initiative demands justice on 79th month since the Suruç Massacre

The Suruç Families Initiative gathered in Kadıköy, in Istanbul, to mark the 79th month since the massacre and held a press statement for the 33 ‘dream travelers’ who were murdered in Suruç.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Musa Piroğlu, Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Co-chair Özlem Gümüştaş, Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF) co-chairs Yaren Tuncer, Okan Danacı, Representative Hakan Dilmeç and Suruç injured.

In the statement, the banner “May our hearts beat for justice” was unfurled.

Koray Türkay, one of the injured in Suruç, read the 79th month’s press release. Reminding what happened at the hearing, Türkay said: “Our request for the inclusion of Süleyman el Aggal, who was arrested in January and for whom a search warrant was issued on the grounds that he had supplied the bombs used in the Suruç massacre, was rejected. Our request was accepted by the new committee that started to look into the case.”

The families’ requests

Türkay reiterated the demands on behalf of the Suruç Families Initiative, Suruç surivors and witnesses as follows:

* “The camera footage of the crime scene has not been put on the file after 6 years. There are still about 5 hours of missing footage on the camera. We want these images to be put in the file.

*The person named Abdullah Ömer Arslan, who was caught while taking pictures of the crime scene on the day of the massacre and was released without any action, should be taken as a suspect.

*Police officers Ahmet oğuz Davarcı and Ali Koçak, who committed the crimes of neglect and abuse of duty, were sentenced in the cases in which they were prosecuted. However, no investigation was opened against his superiors. We want the other police officers who were responsible that day to be identified and prosecuted.

*The prime minister of the time, Ahmet Davutoğlu, said between 7 June and 1 November, dates which included the massacre on 20 July 2015: “Many people won’t lift their head if I say what happened.” We want Ahmet Davutoğlu to tell what he knows about that period.

* We have been fighting for justice for 79 months. We will continue our struggle until the curtain covering the massacre is lifted. “An armed attack was carried out on the car of Bayram Boyraz, wife of Nazegül Bahar Boyraz, one of our 33 dream passengers. The request for justice written on the rear window of Bayram Boyraz’s car was the target of the attack. A new attack was added to the attacks on our families in Suruç. We condemn the attack. We want those responsible to be exposed and punished.”

Background

On July 20, 2015, an ISIS suicide bomber detonated explosives outside Suruç Municipality’s Amara Cultural Center as members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations prepared to travel to Kobane in Rojava to aid in the town’s reconstruction following its liberation from ISIS forces. The attack claimed the lives of 33 people.

The Urfa 6th High Criminal Court board, which announced a ruling in the Suruç massacre case last year, has decided to withdraw from the case.