İSTANBUL - Stating that the victims of Suruç Massacre is put on trial, the people injured at the Suruç Massacre and the families of those who lost their lives said they will never back away from the struggle for justice.

 

In the final hearing of the trial held on October 22, 2021 regarding the murder of 33 people in Suruç in the bomb attack carried out by ISIS in 2015, a law suit was filed against the 10 people who objected to the fact that only one person, Yakup Şahin was sentenced to 34 times aggravated life imprisonment. Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation against Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Co-chair Şahin Tümüklü, Çağla Seven, Koray Türkay, who were injured in Suruç, families of those killed in Suruç, Feti Aydın, Sultan Yıldız, Mehmet Özkan, Özgen Sadet, Yusuf Yurtgül, Yasemin Boyraz and Lawyer Sezin Uçar on charges of "threatening and insulting". Within the scope of the investigation, families of the victims and the people injured at the bombing went to the police stations to give their statements.

 

Çağla Seven, who was an injured survivor of the massacre, and Mehmet Özkan, father of Uğur Özkan, who lost his life in the massacre, made evaluations regarding the investigation.

 

'A FAIR TRIAL PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED FROM THE BEGINNING'

 

Stating that the hope of peace, tranquility and fraternity of the whole society was targeted with the massacre, Seven stated that the effects of the terrible explosion she experienced still continue. Holding the state responsible for the massacre, Seven reminded that after the massacre turned into a lawsuit, an 18-month "confidentiality" decision was brought to the file. Underlining that the case was hijacked and the investigation was not carried out seriously, Seven said, "A fair trial process has not been implemented since the beginning" regarding the judicial process. 

 

STATE INVOLVEMENT IN THE MASSACRE

 

Stating that there is not only one suspect of the massacre and that she demands that the murderers must be found and justice must be provided, Seven stated that the families of those who lost their lives in the massacre and those who were injured were put on trial, not the perpetrators of the massacre. Seven said, “People who follow the trial are prosecuted instead of perpetrators.The government did not approach the case as a massacre against the society but a few leftist teenagers were effected by it alone. But we wanted to believe in justice from day one."

 

ÖZKAN: COURT BOARD DID NOT TAKE ANY ACTION

 

Mehmet Özkan, who lost his son Uğur Özkan in the massacre, also stated that his demands regarding the case were constantly rejected. Referring to what happened at the final hearing, Özkan said: "They forbid the families who spoke at the last hearing from speaking again the last time we went to court. They just want to close the case and be done with it. I told the judge that I have been coming to this hearing for 7 years. I had 7 surgeries after my son was killed. I have multiple chronic diseases. Even that did not stop me from coming to this court. I get into debt to come here. How can I come here and not speak? We will speak." Then the judge summoned soldiers to drag us out of the court. They chambered a round inside the court room and pointed their gun against us. In court!What kind of a court is this? Has something like that ever happen in another country? They don't allow us in with pens. But a whole company of soldiers charge in the court room with weapons. They want to kill us as well."

 

Özkan said: "If they really wanted to shed a light on this massacre they wouldn't have lost the footage of the massaacre. The video is still buried."