In an incident at the Şenyaşar family’s shop in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority district of Suruç (Pirsûs) on 14 June, 2018, and then in a subsequent attack in the Suruç Community Hospital, three members of the Şenyaşar family were murdered and two were injured by a group consisting of the relatives of an MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
In the incident, the step brother of the MP was also killed by a bullet that was fired from an unrecovered and unidentified gun.
Although the members of the Şenyaşar family were all the victims of assault and murder, Fadıl Şenyaşar was sentenced to a prison term of 37 years and 9 months, while only Enver Yıldız of the assailant party was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Survivors of the Şenyaşar family, mother Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit Şenyaşar, have been holding a ‘Justice Vigil’ in front of the courthouse in the city of Urfa (Riha) since 9 March 2021, while the suspects have been under unofficial protection of the state authorities since the incident.
Finally on Friday, 11 suspects were taken into custody within the scope of the investigation after nearly four years. The suspects are believed to include Celal Yıldız, the elder brother of İbrahim Halil Yıldız, MP for the AKP, Şeğsin Yıldız, the MP’s nephew, Mustafa Amaç, the MP’s advisor, and İbrahim Şimşek, the MP’s relative. All were referred to the prosecutor’s office in order to have their statements taken.
Celal Yıldız, Mikail Şimşek, Halil Şimşek and Müslüm Yıldız were eventually arrested while the other suspects were released.
After the arrest orders, Emine Şenyaşar, told Mezopotamya News Agency that the assailants who murdered her family were not just four people.
Stating that the recent arrest of four suspects did not signal enough hope for justice, Emine Şenyaşar said:
“Everyone who took part in the massacre should be punished. Our struggle for justice will continue until my son is released.”
