We’re Expanding the Scope of Our Trial Monitoring Activities in 2018
You can access the Faili Belli website on http://failibelli.org/en[/caption] Since 2015, as Hafıza Merkezi we have been monitoring legal cases of grave violations of human rights committed in the recent past, namely cases of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings in the 90s where defendants are mostly public officials. We publish on the judicial processes in these cases and prepare reports as part of our trial monitoring Faili Belli project. Faced with the prevalence of impunity and the diverse forms of state violence in Turkey, this year we decided to conduct a more comprehensive monitoring activity. In the hope of a more up-to-date and clear analysis on impunity, we will include cases on more recent violations of the right to life caused by the use of deadly force by the state’s security personnel. The English content of the website on these new cases is not yet ready. Still, below, you can read the latest updates on the hearings we have participated in February and March for the four new cases.
Cases on Recent Violations of the Right to Life
Şahin Öner Case On 10 February 2013, Şahin Öner lost his life in Diyarbakır’s Şehitlik district after he was hit by a Shortland armored car with the code number 75 after the arrival of security forces, who were called to the scene following a report of a group, who had allegedly closed a road for an illegal protest. Police officer Selahattin Korkmaz has been charged with premeditated murder in this case. *Please click here for the monitoring report of the 2nd hearing held on 15 February 2018.
Berkin Elvan Case Police officer Fatih Dalgalı, the only defendant in the case, is accused of killing with probable intent according to the Turkish Penal Code Article 82/1 for injuring and killing Berkin Elvan who was shot by a gas canister on 16 June 2013 in Okmeydanı district of Istanbul during the Gezi Park protests. *Please click here for the monitoring report of the fifth hearing held on 27 February 2018.
Hrant Dink Case The case of the murder of Hrant Dink, editor in chief of AGOS, who was killed outside of the offices of the newspaper on 19 January 2007, has been continuing for the last 11 years. Heard by the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court, the case has a new indictment with 85 suspects, 9 of whom are under arrest including gendarmerie and police officers. *Please click here for the monitoring report of the 20th hearing which went on for four days
The Case of Barış Kerem ve Oğuzhan Erkul The case involves the killing of Barış Kerem and Oğuzhan Erkul, who lost their lives on 14 April 2017 after police opened fire because they reportedly failed to obey to an order to stop at the Kent Ormanı exit in the Gezi district of Istanbul. The defendants are police officers Erkan Ekmekci, Kenan Akıl, Zafer Sağlam and Davut Bakır who have been charged with injury or killing of more than one person with conscious recklessness. *Please click here for the first hearing of the case held on 21 March 2018.
Cases on Grave Violations of Human Rights Committed in 90s
Ankara JİTEM Case – Fikri Sağlar, who testified as a witness in the hearing held on 2 February 2018, argued that a chapter was removed from the Susurluk Report because it was deemed “a state secret” and if recovered, the missing chapter will solve a number of murders. Please click here for the details of the hearing. Kızıltepe JİTEM Case – The head judge of the court read incoming documents and asked for requests of each party in this hearing held on 5 February 2018. The hearing only took 10 minutes. Please click here for the details. Kulp (Yavuz Ertürk) Case – In the hearing held on 8 February 2018, the testimonies of each party’s witnesses, which had been taken on 16 January 2018, were included in the case file. Please click for the details of the hearing. Lice Case – The prosecutor demanded the acquittal of the accused Eşref Hatiboğlu in the hearing held on 27 March 2018. The court is expected to rule in the next hearing to be held on 6 July 2018. Please click here for the details.
Calendar for April
We will participate in the following hearings in April:
- 4 April 2018 – Musa Anter and the Main JİTEM Case, Ankara 6th High Criminal Court
- 19 April 2018 – Muhammed and Furkan Yıldırım Brothers Case, Cizre 2nd High Criminal Court
- 26 April 2018 – Kemal Kurkut Case, Diyarbakır 7th High Criminal Court
- 26 April 2018 – Kızıltepe JİTEM Case, Ankara 5th High Criminal Court
