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Onur Gencer, the armed attacker who stormed the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP’s) office in the city of Izmir and killed party activist Deniz Poyraz on 17 June, was immediately arrested and sent to jail within 24 hours of his attack.
In order to follow up Deniz Poyraz’s murder case, lawyers from various lawyers bureaus, including the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and the Human Rights Association (IHD) came together and formed a group of 30 lawyers that will initially work to secure justice for Deniz Poyraz, according to Jin News.
“We ran to the crime scene the minute we heard about the attack. We joined the initial investigation in the HDP building and we prepared our petitions and files in the first two days after the killing,” said Aryen Turan, a member of the OHD and the group of 30 lawyers following the case.
Turan said they were shocked when Onur Gencer was sent to jail by the court almost the moment that he was referred to the court.
“The arrest of the defendant, the assailant, his questioning, his referral to the court and his consecutive imprisonment lasted one day. It all happened so quickly in a shorter timespan than even a day. We were so surprised, because a more detailed investigation should have been conducted. The connections of the defendant should have been investigated. But none of this has taken place,” she said.
The OHD lawyer noted that media organs in Turkey had already started presenting news stating that Onur Gencer “has no relations to any terrorist organisation,” but such news is misleading the public.
“Connections to terrorism or any other connection cannot be fully discovered in two days. A much more expansive investigation should have been conducted and all such connections should have been identified,” she said.
An effective investigation is the priority demand of the lawyers seeking justice for the murdered Kurdish woman. “First of all, we want the connections of the perpetrator to be investigated. We do not believe that he planned and did this alone. Despite his psychiatric problems, he was able to get a gun. How was a gun licence issued for him?,” Turan asked.
She also spoke about the “neglect of the public officers,” as the police officers had been present in front of the HDP building during the armed attack. “The killer walks in, the police hear the gunshots, yet the police did not enter. They waited downstairs for quite some time,” she said.
“In the meantime, the killer could kill more people. There might be a neglect by the public officers here. We will also file criminal complaints regarding this.”
Reported neglect by the public officials, the attacks on social media and the targeting and the lynching of the politicians should be evaluated together, Turan stated. “Such targeting enters the scope of ‘hate crime’ and of ‘instigating people to hatred and hostility.’ There have been constant attacks on the HDP that pave the way and supply a basis for such killings,” she said.
She also explained their perspective of the incident, as opposed the how the incident is being reflected in the media. “We do not think that this is an isolated incident,” she said. “It is also not an action that has been committed by a psychologically unbalanced person. We think they want the incident to be portrayed this way, but we do not believe that.”
