Maritza River case closed before perpetrators and missing refugees were found 

2021-12-24 11:29:59


	 

	İSTANBUL - In the investigation launched into 45 asylum seekers thrown into the Meriç River by Turkish soldiers, a decision of non-prosecution was given without even taking the statements of witnesses and soldiers.

	 

	45 people, who were among the group of 150 refugees who were caught after crossing from Edirne to Greece by Greek soldiers and were returned to Turkey on August 23, were thrown into the Mariyza River by the order of the gendarmerie commander. Speaking to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the incident upon the application of Syrian refugee Sad El Delli to the Lawyers Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Istanbul Branch, Delli said that they were thrown into the river with 45 people, including children over the age of 10. Delli also stated that the commander, who ordered the soldiers to be thrown into the river, said "goodbye", waved after them and recorded those moments on video.

	 

	ONE REFUGEE THROWN INTO THE RIVER AFTER BEING SHOT

	 

	One of the refugees who was also thrown into the river told that he saw an Afghan refugee running from the commander not to be thrown into the river was shot and then thrown into the water.

	 

	ORDER TO SHOT REFUGEE IN THE HEAD

	 

	Speaking to MA, another refugee told that a refugee from Tunisia was thrown into the river and the commander told the soldier to shoot those who refuse to go back to Greece. The same witness also shared the information that he was thrown into the river with 6 people and two of them, Muhammed İsmail and Mohammet El Ali gone missing in the river.

	 

	TWO INVESTIGATIONS WERE STARTED

	 

	After the applications of the lawyers from ÖHD and Abdulkerim El Ali and Sad El Delli to the Edirne and Uzunköprü Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, two investigations were started. Both investigations were into the dissappeared refugees and were against the soldiers with the accusations of 'abuse of office' and 'torture'.

	 

	In the investigation opened with the allegation of "abuse of office", as a result of the discovery made with the asylum seekers, it was determined that the region where they were thrown into the river was Sığırcılı village. It was understood that the Saçlımüsellim Police Station of the 2nd Border Division of the 2nd Border Battalion was responsible for the incident. However, the statements of the soldiers and the commander was not taken despite the ongoing investigation. Only 4 of the petitions by lawyers containing the statements of 6 victims thrown into the river were included in the investigation file. Although their names were included in the investigation file, the statements of the witnesses Mehdi Davudi and Yusuf Elkellas Elhalebi were not taken.

	 

	The asylum seekers, who were not included in the investigation file despite their testimonies of the incident, were neither listened to nor investigated. Ignoring the statements of the victims, the prosecutor treated some statements submitted by the lawyers to the file as if they belonged to El Ali and El Delli. Along with this mistake, the prosecutor claimed that Abdülkerim El Ali and El Delli's statements to the prosecutor's office contradicted the statements submitted by the lawyers to the file.

	 

	FILE WAS CLOSED

	 

	The Prosecutor's Office decided that "Even though the complainants stated that they were forced to cross to Greece via the Maritsa River, there was no reason to prosecute the incident on behalf of the public, since there was no evidence that would raise sufficient suspicion to open a public case, free from any doubt, apart from the abstract allegation of the complainants."

	 

	CONTRADICTION BETWEEN TWO PROSECUTORS

	 

	In the other investigation opened by the Edirne Chief Public Prosecutor's Office due to "torture", he claimed that the place where the incident took place covered a very long area. However, in the previous investigation document, it was determined that the area where the incident took place was Sığırcılı village, and the 2nd Border Battalion 2nd Border Division's Saçlımüsellim Police Station was responsible for this area.

	 

	THE PEOPLE LOST IN THE RIVER WERE IGNORED

	 

	Despite this determination, the prosecutor alleges that “Identification of suspects is impossible in this sense due to the presence of more than one law enforcement station and a large number of personnel on duty in the area in question (…)” and claimed there was no evidence. The prosecutor gave a decision of non-prosecution in this investigation file.

	 

	 

	MA / Mehmet Aslan