Özgür Gündem newspaper’s correspondent Hafız Akdemir was killed in an armed attack after he had left his house in Sur district of Amed on 8 June 1992. The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) organized a commemoration event on the street where he was murdered.

DFG co-chair Serdar Altan made a speech at the commemoration event. “Hafiz was telling the truth; he was struggling to reveal the facts,” Altan said.

Altan continued, “Those who were shedding blood in the 1990s could not tolerate this. They murdered Cengiz (Özgür Gündem correspondent Cengiz Altun) and then Hafız so that the unsolved events would not be revealed and remained in the dark. Hafiz was killed in this street. He had been threatened many times before he was murdered.”

Akdemir’s nephew Veysi Polat, who was with him when he was murdered, said, “We know that there are CDs seized in Beykoz in 2000. In other words, some information and documents in Sedat Peker's archive can be found in the records of the hitmen used by the deep state at that time. The records included the names of the figures who committed the murders…Even though I am the only eyewitness I have not been invited to a single hearing for 29 years. In fact, there has not been a fair trial.”

'THEY SHOULD ASK AĞAR AND ŞARMAN!'

Polat referred to the confessions of Sedat Peker, the leader of a state-sponsored crime organization, about the lost weapons in the recent period:

“There were Uzi-type weapons brought from Israel when Mehmet Ağar was in office. You know that Mehmet Ağar will be tried again. Behçet Cantürk and lawyer Yusuf Ekinci were killed with Uzi-type weapons brought from Israel at that time. The weapons used in all the murders committed by Hezbollah in this region are the same weapons. You should ask Ağar about the murders in western Turkey, namely the Hendek-Bolu-Sapanca triangle, and the murders in eastern Turkey to the then-Batman Governor Salih Şarman. Were these weapons bought with black budget used in the murders of other journalists, including my Uncle Hafiz, and in other murders that remained 'unsolved' in this region? This also needs to be questioned. Batman Governor Salih Şarman is also the first governor in Turkey who was put in jail for 16 months for bribery. Why did you kill these people? Why did you kill Hafız Akdemir?”

'THEY ARE STILL THREATENING'

Polat emphasized that Akdemir was killed because he wrote about the village evacuations, tortures and unfair practices at that time:

"They kidnapped his dead body from the morgue. We are in a Muslim country. They took him away and buried him in the Mardin Kapı Cemetery. They did not allow us to organize a proper funeral. They wrote notes on the door of Özgür Gündem, "It's your turn, we will break your pen". They threatened us two months ago. Akdemir did not sell his pen. As his successors, we will continue his struggle.”

After the speeches, journalists left carnations on the street where Akdemir was murdered.