Fadıl Şenyaşar faces a sentence of 150 years in prison in Turkey whilst Enver Yıldız faces a 12-year prison sentence. Fadil’s mother Emine Şenyaşar said: ”Was it only one person that killed my family? There is no justice. The cruelty continues”.
The case relates to incidents that started with the attacks by the bodyguards and relatives of Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız against the Şenyaşar family members. It resulted in the deaths of four people and took place during the election campaign in Urfa’s (Riha’s) Suruç district in Turkey on 14 June 2018. The prosecutor has asked for a prison sentence of 150 years for Fadıl Şenyaşar and 12 years for Enver Yıldız.
According to Mesopotamia Agency, Fadıl’s mother Emine Şenyaşar said that Enver Yıldız was being tried but with release in mind but her son Fadıl was being tried with life imprisonment in mind. Emine Şenyaşar stated: “There is no justice. They constantly change the court president. They want 150 years for my son but just 12 years for their side. They killed three people from my family. They also put my son in prison. The cruelty continues. They arrested one of them. Well, was it just one person who killed my family? Why don’t they take pictures from the hospital as evidence? They even wanted to follow Fadıl and kill him there. They come and stand in front of us, crossing their feet in the court. I buried three people from my family. Enough! Those who murdered my sons walk freely. My son has been kept in a single room for three years. I need justice. The cruelty inflicted on us is not seen. Everyone should stop this cruelty now. We are also living dead” in this context, she noted.
Ferit Şenyaşar: The indictment was “biased”
Ferit Şenyaşar stated that the indictment prepared by the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was “biased”: “We knew that the Urfa Courthouse was under the control of the Yıldız family. The chairman of the court board had changed. Whilst my lawyers were defending me, the chairman was intervening. He wasn’t even listening to our lawyers. Whilst we were waiting for an impartial decision, the prosecutor read the same indictment”, he said.
Ferit added: “Although the Expert Report on the killing of Mehmet Şah Yıldız states that ‘it is not clear who killed him’, the prosecutor says that my brother killed this person. I said to the prosecutor: ‘You read the expert report, watched the video evidence – Now, how can you say my brother shot this person?’ The prosecutor said: ‘It doesn’t matter what I say. It is the court committee that will decide'”.
In this politicised context, Ferit Şenyaşar said: “The cruelty against us continues. According to the prosecutor, we attacked them. It’s like we attacked their workplace. It makes them innocent and we are the guilty ones. My two brothers and my father were lynched and brutally murdered in the incident. For the person who is the only detainee from the Yıldız family regarding the incident, he is faces charges of ‘punishment under severe provocation’. We think that they are trying to free Enver Yıldız. We will not accept this court decision. Whatever happens, we will never give up our struggle for justice. We will reveal the facts”.
