'Racism' erased from indictment of workers attacked in Sakarya  

2021-03-27 14:53:11


	MARDIN - In Sakarya, prosecuter completed the investigation of Kurdish workers, who were attacked to death last year and decided not to prosecute the charges of 'inciting the people to hatred and enmit' and keep the 3-page indictment on 'deliberate injury'. Lawyer Kemal Erdem said that the racist side of the attack was tried to be covered up.

	 

	The prosecutor completed the 3-page indictment about the attack against Kurdish agricultural workers who went from Mardin’s Mazıdağı district to Sakarya’s Kocaali district on September 4 last year. The Penal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment prepared by the Kocaali Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The first trial will be held in the upcoming days.

	 

	3-PAGE INDICTMENT

	 

	While the prosecutor decided to nolpros the indictment and not to prosecute in the investigation for the crime of 'inciting the public to hatred and hostility', he requested a penalty for 'deliberate injury', 'offense of threat' and 'offense of libel'. One and half pages of the indictment contains identity information of the victims, complainants and perpetrators. The other page included the prosecutor's evaluation. In the indictment, seven people took part as victims and other workers as complainants.

	 

	THERE IS THREAT, BUT NO RACISM!

	 

	In the indictment, Hasan Cebecioğlu, Hüseyin Cebecioğlu and Kenan Cebecioğlu were asked to be punished with the charges of 'deliberate injury', 'offense of threat' and 'offense of libel' and Kadir Cebecioğlu with the charge of 'deliberate injury'. Accordingly, the attackers will be punished with 6 months imprisonment and judicial fine for 'offense of libel', 3 months to 2 years imprisonment or judicial fine for 'offense of libel' and 4 months up to 1 year for 'deliberate injury' offenses.

	 

	While explaining the incident in the prosecution's assesment section, the words of the attacksers such as 'I will burn you, this is my country, do you think this is Mardin', , 'I will give you an hour, you can either get out of here or I will burn the house down with you!' and 'I will bury your dead body and nobody will know about it'. 

	 

	RECONCILIATORY ASSIGNED

	 

	The prosecutor noted that there was sufficient suspicion that the suspects committed the crimes and a reconciliator was assingned on the grounds that 'the crime is subject to reconciliation' but reconciliatory could not have been reached.

	 

	 

	‘THEY TRIED TO COVER UP THE RACIST ASPECTS’

	 

	Lawyer Kemal Erdem, attorney of the victim workers on behalf of the Mardin Bar Assocation stated that attack has racist aspects since the beginning but even there is a lot of evidence, the prosecution avoided to investigate the hate crimes. Kemal Erdem said that the file was tried to be covered up, especially the racist aspects in the file, from day one. Erdem continued, "We know that seasonal agricultural workers have been subjected to similar attacks everywhere they go. They tried to cover up the racist aspects of this file once again. The fact that the indictment would be incomplete was obvious from the first day. That's why we have made our objections, however it was not taken into consideration. We will try to uncover the facts with our requests every step of the way."

	 

	BACKGROUND

	 

	Agricultural workers from Mardin’s Mazıdağı district, who went to Sakarya for seasonal work, were attacked by the villagers to death on September 4, 2020. The workers left the village where they were attacked and returned to Mardin with their families. The village of the workers in Mardin was closed to entrance and exit by the soldiers and they were not allowed to meet with anyone.