Massacre of Dedeoğulları family | ‘Several questions left uninvestigated’

* Photo: HDP

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The relatives of the Dedeoğulları family, seven members of whom were massacred in a racist attack in Konya on July 30, 2021, and their lawyer visited the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) today (January 19). Çetin Dedeoğulları, paternal uncle Erdal Rifatoğulları and lawyer Ebru Akkal met HDP Group Deputy Chairs Meral Danış Beştaş and Saruhan Oluç.

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'Attack not taken seriously'

Addressing the press after the meeting, HDP's Saruhan Oluç referred to the attack on May 12, 2021, which preceded the deadly attack in July, and stated, "A group of nearly 60 racist people attacked the family on May 12. The family requested protection afterwards, but neither the prosecutor's office nor the security directorate took this request for protection seriously. The family took its own measures and installed security cameras. Seven people were massacred in the attack on July 30."

Talking about the ensuing legal proceedings into both attacks, Oluç said that "the course of the hearing was not in a state to reveal the instigator and the mastermind" of the attack, adding, "There are several questions, but their answers are not given, they are not investigated."

According to HDP's Oluç, "it is not even known from whom the hired gun received the gun license." Putting an emphasis on the expression "hired gun", Oluç noted that "it is highly likely that the perpetrator was a hired gun", explaining what he meant briefly as follows:

"We see that this is highly likely. From the first moment on, we have seen that we are faced with an incident prepared and planned before, not an incident arising from the hostility between the families.

"It is seen that the hired gun took out a huge amount of loan from two separate banks. Were there any guarantors? Not clear. How could an unemployed person receive such a huge amount of loan?

"It is certain that the hired gun rented a car before the massacre, went to Ankara, İstanbul and Bursa and stayed in luxury hotels. But it is not clear with whom he met there. It is not investigated. There are several questions about this issue and it is not investigated."

CLICK - Seven people from Kurdish family killed in racist assault

'Assailant's phone reset'

Saruhan Oluç also said that the phone of assailant Mehmet Altun was reset before the massacre. Asking who is behind the massacre, Oluç reiterated that there are serious questions about it.

"The investigation must be extended," he said, accusing the Konya Chief Public Prosecutor and the prosecutors handling the case of "making attempts to cover up the issue by limiting it with the hired gun."

'Follow up our case'

Taking the floor afterwards, Çetin Dedeoğulları called on both political parties and people to follow up on their case. "What was done to my family was something against humanity," he said, stressing that "it should not be limited to what the murderer said and must be investigated in full."

Çetin Dedeoğulları said, "The prosecutor's office has apparently remained limited to what the murderer said about it."

'Even the HTS records not put in the file'

HDP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Meral Danış-Beştaş also stated, "Every massacre that has gone unpunished in our recent history becomes a harbinger of new massacres. They cause new massacres. We know it from Roboski. Impunity leads to new massacres."

Drawing a parallel between Mehmet Altun, the perpetrator of the Dedeoğulları massacre, and Onur Gencer, the assailant who killed Deniz Poyraz in the HDP İzmir office in 2021, Danış-Beştaş recalled that "they were both citizens who spent lots of money and stayed in luxury hotels."

She said, "We know that a single person cannot carry out such a massacre on his own. Protecting the murderer, the public prosecutor's office did not even put the HTS records in the file."

Underlining that "the security camera installed in the house revealed the massacre and its perpetrator", Danış-Beştaş noted that "the WhatsApp messages among the family have uncovered the incident".

"We say that the HTS records added to the file are not enough," she said, reiterating that "material evidence and background information was not sought." Concluding her remarks, she said:

"Since the first day, the government officials have been stating that 'it was not a racist attack'. We, as the HDP, of course would not want it to be a racist attack. But the way to do this is not to reject racism. It cannot be done by rejecting it if this massacre was committed with racism. On the contrary, it can be prevented by penalizing the racist attacks on Kurdish families."

What happened?

An armed assailant raided the house of Dedeoğulları family in Konya's Meram in the evening hours on July 30. He shot seven family members to death, set the house on fire and ran away.

Several police and paramedic teams were referred to the scene of the incident upon reports. The dead bodies of Yaşar Dedeoğulları, Barış Dedeoğulları, Serpil Dedeoğulları, Serap Dedeoğulları, İpek Dedeoğulları, Metin Dedeoğulları and Sibel Dedeoğulları were found at home which was first raided by the perpetrator, then set on fire before leaving.

As part of the investigation launched into the attack, 10 people from the Keleş and Altun families and murder suspect Mehmet Altun were arrested.

Along with the assailant, 13 people in total were arrested. But except for Mehmet Altun, all defendants were released in following weeks.

In the indictment, a life sentence aggravated for seven times has been requested for nine defendants for instigating the crime; Mehmet Altun, the murder suspect, also faces a life sentence aggravated for seven times for "premeditated murder with monstrous feelings."

In the trial of 11 people from the Keleş and Çalık families, the hearing has been adjourned until February 8, 2021

Attack on May 12

Living in the same neighbourhood for 24 years, the Dedeoğulları family was subjected to the racist attack of nearly 60 people on May 12. "We are [ultranationalist] idealists, we will not let you live here," a racist group threatened the family and severely wounded 7 family members, including four women. Of the 7 people arrested after the attack, 5 were released.

Lawyer Abdurrahman Karabulut filed a criminal complaint against the local authorities and provincial and district security directors who had not taken adequate measures to protect the family before the attack and the prosecutor and penal judge of peace who had not responded to the requests for protection on charge of "neglect of duty". (RT/SD)