Defendant Not Brought to Court Again in Suruç Trial, Families Leave Courtroom

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Third hearing of the trial concerning the Suruç Massacre in which 33 people lost their lives, as many as 100 others were injured in Turkey’s southeastern Suruç, Urfa, was held at Urfa 5th Heavy Penal Court. The hearing was held at Type T Prison Campus under tight security.

In addition to families of the people who lost their lives or survived injured, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Urfa MP Dilek Öcalan and provincial directors, Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Mahmut Tanal, Democratic Regions Party (DBP), Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Labor Party (EMEP) provincial directors and many people including Suruç Families’ Initiative.

Even though the only arrested defendant of the trial Yakup Şahin was issued a warrant to be brought to the court, he wasn’t brought to the courtroom. The first two hearings were also held without the defendant.

Of the defendants Deniz Büyükçelebi and İlhami Ballı are in Syria, according to the indictment.

Complainants: We will not give deposition before the defendant comes

Appointed to the trial as the defense attorneys by the bar association, the attorneys said that they would not make a statement of defense and have withdrawn from the trial by saying “we don’t find it appropriate to be present in the hearing”.

Complainants took the floor after the attorneys and said that they will not give deposition before the defendant is brought to court.

What happened?

A suicide attack occurred as 300 young people were issuing a statement for the press in Amara Culture Center in Suruç where they were present to have toys and humanitarian aid be delivered to Kobanê upon a call by the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) on July 20, 2015.

33 people lost their lives in the explosion.

Sealing order was issued on the investigation on July 23, 2015.

Then district security director Mehmet Yapalıal was fined 7,500 TL (1,660 Euros) on January 9, 2017 over “neglect of duty and malpractice” in the trial in which civil servants were prosecuted. The fine was split into 12 installments.

Trial of Suruç massacre started on May 4, 2017.

Three defendants each face 104 years in aggravated lifetime imprisonment.

One of the defendants Yakup Şahin has been in custody as the suspect of Ankara Train Station attack. Deniz Büyükçelebi and İlhami Ballı are in Syria, according to the indictment.

Şahin, who was not brought to the first hearing, wasn’t brought to the second hearing either on July 14, 2017. Lawyers’ objection against Şahin attending via Sound and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) was accepted by the court committee.

Names of those who lost their lives in the attack: Koray Çapoğlu, Cebrail Günebakan, Hatice Ezgi Sadet, Uğur Özkan, Nartan Kılıç, Veysel Özdemir, Nazegül Boyraz, Kasım Deprem, Alper Sapan, Cemil Yıldız, Okan Pirinç, Ferdane Kılıç, Yunus Emre Şen, Çağdaş Aydın, Alican Vural, Osman Çiçek, Mücahit Erol, Medali Barutçu, Aydan Ezgi Salcı, Nazlı Akyürek, Serhat Devrim, Ece Dinç, Emrullah Akhamur, Murat Yurtgül, Erdal Bozkurt, İsmet Şeker, Süleyman Aksu, Büşra Mete, Duygu Tuna, Polen Ünlü, Nuray Koçan, Vatan Budak, Mert Cömert.