A Kurdish family living in the province of Konya in Turkey was attacked by a group of 60 people on 12 May, MA reports.
Only six people were detained in the investigation into the attack, in which seven members of the family were seriously injured.
According to Mezopotamya Agency (MA), a Kurdish family living in the Bahçeşehir neighbourhood of the Meram district of Konya was attacked by a racist group of 60 people living in the same neighborhood on 12 May. The home of the Dedeoğullarıs, a family of seven, four of whom are women, was raided by people living in the neighbourhood. The attackers, most of whom were related to each other, attacked the Dedeoğulları family with knives, stones, and sticks, saying, “We are nationalists, we will not let you live here.” As a result of the attack, family member Metin Dedeoğulları, suffered a cerebral haemorrhage, and other family members were seriously injured.
Barış Dedeoğulları was also seriously injured in the attack. He talked about what happened that day:
“On the night of 12 May at 10pm a group of 60 people entered the garden of our house and threatened and attacked us, saying, “We are nationalists, we will not let you live here.”
He continued: “After the attack, my brother suffered a brain hemorrhage. He was in intensive care for three days. My sister was in the hospital for four days as a result of a serious injury, and had to have a platinum inserted into her left arm. She will not be able to use her left hand for the rest of her life. My 66-year-old father had to have stitches in his head, and his broken wrist has set badly. The remaining three people, me and my two sisters, also received serious injuries.
Police blamed the family
Dedeoğulları said that they have been neighbours with some of the aggressors in the racist group for many years and that they had previously felt threatened by them when told them, “We don’t want Kurds here.”
He also added that the police took the side of the attackers that day.
“The police who came to the scene on the day of the incident all but blamed us,” he said.
Only 6 detained
The lawyer of the Dedeoğulları family, Abdurrahman Karabulut, stated that of the attackers whose statments were taken after the attack, Ali Keleş, Ayşe Keleş, Yahya Çalık, Lütfi Keleş, Şerife Çalık and Veli Keleş were detained and AK, R.Ç., A.Ç., and İ.K. were released on bail. Ali Çalık, who was arrested two days after the incident, was also released on bail after a short time due to “lack of sufficient evidence that he was involved in the fight”. Only six people were detained in connection with the racist attack, which involved 60.
Investigation continues
Karabulut applied to Konya Chief State Prosecution on 17 June demanding the detention of the attackers on charges including “attempting to kill intentionally”, “intentional injury” and “violation of the privacy of residence”. He also demanded the identification of other suspects involved in the attack.