ISTANBUL - Hayrettin Akkurt, brother of Zülfer Akkurt, one of the 7 villagers whose bodies were burned after being killed in Dargeçit, reminded that he was threatened by the District Gendarmerie Commander Ali Tapan for his complaints about the massacre and said, "I will not stop following up of this case."
The bodies of Ahmet Kavakçıoğlu, Mehmet Kavaçıoğlu, Alaattin Acar, Fahrettin Acar, Mahmut Erol, Süleyman Erol and Zülfer Akkurt, who were accused of "being members of a terrorist organization" by the soldiers who raided the rural village of Çelik (Çêlik) in Mardin's Dargeçit district on 3 July 1993 were set on fire. The investigation into the deaths of 7 people, who were accused of being "members of a terrorist organization", was closed on the date of the incident. As a result of the application made by the families of the villagers through the Human Rights Association (İHD) upon the initiation of investigations into the murders committed by JİTEM in the 1990's, the Special Authorized Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office accepted the file on November 1, 2013. A decision of non-jurisdiction was later issued for the investigation initiated by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in 2013. Later, the Dargeçit Chief Public Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute due to prescription and the fact that, to him, the murdered villagers were 'terrorists'.
The appeal made by the families' attorneys to the Midyat Criminal Court of First Instance was accepted and the decision of non-prosecution was revoked. Referring to the relevant articles of the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the judge's reasoned decision, it was stated that "Without an effective investigation, the conclusion of the investigation based on the statute of limitations will be a violation of the obligation to investigate the death, imposed on the state".
THEY FIRST KILLED THEM AND THEN THEY SET THEM ON FIRE
Hayrettin Akkurt, who witnessed the massacre at the age of 14 and lost his brother Zülfer Akkurt in the incident, said that no one should turn a blind eye to what happened. Emphasizing that the perpetrators of the massacre were trying to blame them by saying "They were from the PKK", Akkurt explained his witnessing of the incident as follows: "My brother was a driver in the village. He met all the needs of the police station. My brother used to bring their food. He was married 8 months before he was killed. Mehmet Kavaçıoğlu, who was also killed, was given a gun by the state. They killed those who helped them day and night and those whom they gave guns to claiming they were "PKK members". Everyone has witnessed how these people were tortured to death in front of their homes. My mother and my aunt and I witnessed my brother's murder. They shot him with a gun in front of us. After they killed them, they put their bodies in the car and took them to the police station. They reported the news, "We killed 7 PKK members," planting weapons to them, including the gun the state gave to Mehmet Kavaçıoğlu. Then they brought the bodies back to the village from the police station and set them on fire. Then they put their bones in bags and took them away."
THREAT FROM TAPAN'S ATTORNEY
Stating that everything was done by Dargeçit District Gendarmerie Commander Ali Tapan at the time, Akkurt said that they filed a criminal complaint with the witnesses, to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Stating that a warning paper was sent to his house by Ali Tapan's attorney on this, Akkurt said, "Then I called Ali Tapan's attorney and asked how could he advocate for this? He responded by saying, "He did it by the order of the state." In other words, the state ordered this massacre. He said to me, "Stop following case, or else!." I said that I will never give up following this case, I will follow this case as best I can, and will continue to ask about the rights of every murdered person along with my brother."
THEY SHOULD ADMIT THAT THEY DID IT
Underlining that the massacre committed in their village by the state should be enlightened, Akkurt added that everyone should know what happened there. Stating that he will not forget the persecution in his village, Akkurt said, "I am not very hopeful about this case. However, I will continue to follow up this case no matter where it goes. The state that killed my brother is trying this case. I do not know which one to blame. However, we will continue to tell what was happened. If they want, I will bring 20 witnesses. As long as this case concludes. This is my only demand. I just want them to admit that they did it."
MA / Ferhat Çelik