If justice is not achieved in a trial to be held on Tuesday, the Şenyaşar family, three members of whom were murdered by relatives of an MP from Turkey’s ruling party in 2018, will take their vigil for justice to the capital Ankara.
Ferit Şenyaşar, who lost his father and two of his brothers in the incident, recalled the words of the Turkish Minister of Justice: “Justice that comes late is no justice at all”, while stressing that the Şenyaşars have been seeking justice for their murdered family members for a whole five years.
Since the elections in May, Ferit Şenyaşar has continued to pursue justice within the parliament as a Green Left Party MP. Simultaneously, his mother has remained steadfast in her own protest, maintaining a vigil outside the courthouse in Kurdish-majority city of Urfa (Riha) since March 2021.
Speaking to the Mezopotamya Agency, the MP called for the public to attend the hearing to be held on 18 July.
One of the family’s demands is the arrest of the former Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız, to whom the attackers are related and whom the Şenyaşar family sees as responsible for the murders. Ferit Şenyaşar expressed his dismay that Yıldız has still not been arrested despite no longer having parliamentary immunity, since he is no longer an MP.
The Şenyaşars are also demanding justice for another brother, Fadıl Şenyaşar, who was severely injured in the same attack, arrested immediately afterwards and sentenced to more than twice as long as Enver Yıldız, the brother of the AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız and the main suspect in the murder of the three members of the Şenyaşar family.
How the incident unfolded
The incident occurred on 14 June 2018 during an election campaign visit by the AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız to shopkeepers in Urfa’s Suruç (Pirsûs) district.
The altercation involving Yıldız’s relatives and bodyguards took place at the Şenyaşar family shop, resulting in the death of Adil Şenyaşar, one of Ferit’s four brothers, as well as Mehmet Şah Yıldız, a brother of the AKP MP. Two other Şenyaşar brothers sustained injuries and were hospitalised.
When parents of the brothers, Emine and Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar received news of the incident and rushed to the hospital, the family were once again attacked by Yıldız’s relatives.
Both Hacı Esvet and his son Celal, who had already sustained injuries in the initial altercation, lost their lives in this second attack, which took place inside the state hospital.
It was later revealed that then-Minister of Agriculture, the Governor of Urfa, the District Governor of Suruç and the Chief of Police were all present in the hospital’s courtyard at the time of this second attack. In addition, all relevant recordings from the hospital’s CCTV were found to be missing.
Arrest and sentencing disparities
Fadıl Şenyaşar, the one brother who had survived the incident at the shop, who was severely injured and undergoing treatment for his injuries, was arrested immediately after the incident at the hospital.
Fadıl Şenyaşar was the only person arrested immediately after the incident and subsequently sent to prison to await trial. Although arrest warrants were issued for them, no members of the Yıldız family were arrested for about a year and a half. Finally, Enver Yıldız, a named suspect and a brother of the AKP MP, arrived at the courthouse with a team of 50 bodyguards, and turned himself in in September 2019.
In April 2021, Fadıl Şenyaşar, who had already endured the loss of his father and two brothers in the incident and had been in detention ever since, received a sentence of 37 years and 9 months for murder in the first degree. Enver Yıldız, on the other hand, was sentenced to 18 years for involuntary manslaughter.
The Şenyaşar family asserts that Mehmet Şah Yıldız’s death was a result of an act of self-defence stemming from the altercation at the shop.
According to the lawyer representing the Şenyaşar family, evidence including CCTV footage in the shop and witness testimonies indicate that Mehmet Şah Yıldız was the initial shooter. Moreover, the source of the bullet that caused Yıldız’s demise remains unclear, and upon analysing the camera footage, there is a possibility that the bullet originated from the weapon of one of Yıldız family members.
Legal developments so far
Originally, the murder case involving the Şenyaşar family was split into two separate files: one for the shop incident and another for the hospital attacks. Fadıl Şenyaşar’s verdict was a result of the case related to the shop incident.
However, these files were merged during the proceedings in the case initiated in January concerning the attacks at the hospital. The final judgment for Fadıl Şenyaşar will be determined in the trial in this consolidated case.
At the last hearing, the court ruled to keep Şenyaşar in detention.
The case has been plagued by allegations of government interference and a lack of progress, despite the presence of clear CCTV footage showing the attack at the shop.
Crime scene investigation footage
Recently emerged crime scene investigation footage revealed the aftermath of the murders at Suruç State Hospital.
The footage of the room where the Şenyaşar family were attacked reveals numerous bullet holes in the walls, along with holes in the ceiling large enough for a person to pass through. The images also capture blood splatters on the floor and walls of the room, and bullet casings from firearms used by the Yıldız family strewn across the ground.
As the footage goes on, a police officer can be seen examining two firearms and inspecting the ammunition within their magazines. The video also shows shattered windows, broken items within various hospital rooms and a severely vandalised CCTV recording room where there is damage to the stonework, and all the devices, servers and cables are either destroyed, disconnected or removed.
