Türkler Murder Trial Closed by Prescription after 26 Years

The trial related to the murder of Kemal Türkler, former President of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK) was closed by prescription after 26 years.

Türkler was a key figure of the democratic trade union movement in Turkey in the 1970s. He was assassinated in front of his home in Istanbul on 22 July 1980.

Prime suspect Ünal Osmanağaoğlu could not be brought to court repeatedly due to medical reports. Hence, the trial had continuously been postponed to a later date.

On 1 December, the Bakırköy 2^nd High Criminal Court decided to apply the status of limitation and dropped procedures. Rasim Öz, lawyer of the Türkler family, told bianet after the final hearing, "This trial must be evaluated within the scope of 'crimes against humanity' and it has to be exempt from the statute of limitations".

"Judiciary registered the murder, end of story"

DİSK President Süleyman Çelebi made an announcement after the hearing. He stated that "the murders of this trial were known" and that referring documents had been concealed intentionally. Çelebi criticized that also the status of limitation had been deliberately used for this case.

"As far as we are concerned, the defendant is a murderer, he is the person who killed Kemal Türkler. This was entered in the official record by the court twice.  There is no other side of the coin".

Commenting on the status of limitation, Çelebi indicated that "this does not clear away the perpetrator's identity as a murderer". He said that they were going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

"From our point of view, this was not an acquittal. We will continue this case until the end", Çelebi claimed.

"We will go to the ECHR"

Ergin Cinmen, joint attorney of the Türkler family, criticized the decision in an interview with bianet:

"For years and years the state took efforts to exempt the culprits from penalty. The whole system was focused on that. First it was the police forces that did not arrest the murderer and later on the judiciary not to punish him. The entire system is the perpetrator. All the political murders committed around [the 1980 military coup on] 12 September and afterwards remained unpunished. The state has always protected the suspects. We will bring this case before the Court of Appeals. If the decision will be upheld, we go to the ECHR".

"They are even afraid of my father's grave"

Türkler's daughter Nilgün Soydan was an eye-witness of her father's assassination when she was 18 years old.

"First the state killed my father, then they protected the person who killed my father for years and eventually they look into our eyes and tell us that the case has reached its statute of limitation. I will not worry about the application to the ECHR. You are even afraid of my father's grave. Keep being afraid of my father. History will take the state to account for the murder". (BT)