A group of lawyers representing the victims in the 19 December 2000 prison massacre case held a press conference at the Istanbul Bar Association, responding to the recent statute-of-limitations ruling in the trial concerning the state-led operation that killed 30 prisoners.
Attorney Güçlü Sevimli criticised the decision issued on 17 November 2025 by the Bakırköy 13th High Criminal Court, which ruled that the case had expired despite proceedings having begun in 2010. Sevimli stated that the massacre was the direct result of the state’s prison policy. He stressed that what was officially described as an “operation” was, in reality, “a massacre in every sense of the word.” He added, “Those who carried out the operation acted with the intent to kill, and they fulfilled that intent.”
Sevimli also recalled that Eyüp Chief Public Prosecutor Ali Ihsan Demirel, who initially led the investigation into the massacre, kept the file pending for ten years. After a decade, charges were brought against only 39 soldiers of various ranks. Sevimli noted that Demirel was removed from the case after a negligence-related misconduct case was filed against him. The new prosecutor reopened the file, and a second indictment prepared in 2015 led to an additional 157 soldiers being charged.
Sevimli noted that the court had ultimately ruled the case to be time-barred and continued: “The case file clearly shows, through forensic reports, crime-scene examinations and autopsy findings, that the soldiers who carried out the operation fired massive rounds of ammunition into the prisoners’ wards, while not a single shot was fired from the prisoners’ side. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has already ruled that the operation violated the prisoners’ right to life. In a situation where six women prisoners were burned alive and soldiers raked unarmed inmates with sustained gunfire, issuing a statute-of-limitations decision for the accused soldiers is unacceptable. Let us also recall that former Eyüp Chief Public Prosecutor Ali İhsan Demirel, who oversaw the initial investigation, was indicted and prosecuted for obstructing the inquiry.”
Güçlü Sevimli added that the ruling by the Bakırköy 13th High Criminal Court has reinforced the entrenched culture of impunity that has long characterised cases involving public officials in Turkey. He said, “This decision carries implications not only for the past, but for the present and future as well. By declaring the case expired, the court has entrenched injustice in its final judgment. Yet despite everything, we believe that this case and what happened will never be forgotten, and those responsible for the massacre will not escape the people’s pursuit of justice.”
Attorney Several Ballıkaya stated: “The Constitutional Court has ruled that the force used was lethal and that the right to life was violated. We possess documents showing that this outcome was foreseen in advance. The operation plan itself includes the statement, ‘The operation will be bloody, and they fear prosecution once it is over.’ How this concern was resolved was never presented to the court. Radio communications and video footage were also never submitted.”
Attorney Gülizar Tuncer added that the notion of crimes against humanity applies particularly to executions and mass killings. She said, “From the very beginning, we have consistently argued that this massacre, along with other massacres carried out both inside and outside the prisons, constitutes crimes against humanity, and therefore cannot be subject to a statute-of-limitations ruling.”