More than 70 people were detained in Istanbul and Izmir at events organised for commemorating the 33 victims of the attack 6 years ago in the Suruç (Pirsûs) district of Urfa (Riha) in southeastern Turkey. Many of those detained were also savagely beaten by the Turkish police.
The Initiative for Suruç Families had organised an memorial event on Tuesday in Kadıköy district of Istanbul where 62 people who attended the event were detained. Turkish police fired tear-gas canisters into the vehicles of the detainees causing them to suffer choking and breathing trauma.
The detainees also claimed to have been subjected to torture while ironically being taken to hospital for medical checks.
In Izmir 10 people who attended a memorial event for the commemoration were also beaten and detained.
On July 20th 2015, an alleged ISIS suicide bomber exploded their suicide vests amongst a group of young people in Suruç. 33 young people were killed and 104 wounded in the bombing that ISIS ‘claimed responsibility’ for the following day. The attack has never been investigated or processed properly but many observers suspect that the Turkish government itself was behind the attack on the young activists.
The group consisted mostly of young university students who were there for a planned trip to Kobane on the other side of the border, intending to join reconstruction projects such as childrens playgrounds after the city had survived a lengthy siege and attack by ISIS.