On 14 June 2018, the bodyguards and relatives of AKP Urfa MP Ibrahim Halil Yıldız attacked the Şenyaşar family's shop in Suruç during the election campaign.

In the attack, brothers Celal, Adil, Mehmet, Fadıl and Ferit Şenyaşar were severely injured and hospitalized. Relatives and supporters of AKP MP Yıldız killed Celal and Adil Şenyaşar in hospital, and their father Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar, when he went to the hospital to see his sons. He was brutally murdered, being lynched in front of his wife, Emine Şenyaşar.

The Justice Vigil that Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit (Urfa DEM Party MP) started in front of the Turkish Ministry of Justice continues on its 96th day.

On Monday, Emine Şenyaşar announced in Parliament that they would make a press statement in front of the Ministry of Justice on 24 May. The Şenyaşar family called on everyone to join them.

'My brother is paying the price for having survived'

Ferit Şenyaşar said that those who committed massacres and those who instigated them were rewarded, while one of his brothers, who survived the massacre, had been kept in solitary confinement for six years. "My brother is paying the price for surviving. One of the rights that has emerged since humanity existed is justice. Justice is always represented by a balanced scale, but when the scale is not balanced, then the legitimacy of the state and the government becomes questionable. Over the past six years, our demands for a fair and impartial trial have not been taken into account. We held a Justice Vigil in front of Urfa Courthouse with my mother for 846 days. During that period, dozens of investigations were opened against us. The judiciary, which does not bring criminals to court, has tried my mother many times."

'The Ministry of Justice is party to the illegality'

Şenyaşar said that the Justice Vigil, which his mother carried from Urfa to the Ministry of Justice in Ankara, continues on its 96th day and added: "Instead of putting an end to this oppression, the Ministry of Justice locked the door of the ministry, and if that was not enough, they blocked the front of the ministry with police barriers. Thousands of people like us are victimized by groups established within the state. We will continue our fight until truth and justice are achieved. We must keep the rule of law above the rule of individuals. Today, the Ministry of Justice is party to many unlawful acts by remaining silent. The Ministry of Justice turns a blind eye to this system in which the perpetrators and murderers are not prosecuted."

'We call for the struggle to turn into a common voice'

Şenyaşar said: "We, in the person of Emine Şenyaşar, will join all civil society organizations and bar associations in order to turn this struggle into a common voice throughout Turkey, in order to ensure a fair trial. We are calling on everyone to raise their voices against injustice. In this process, the defense has a great responsibility. Everyone can remain silent, but if the defense remains silent, society cannot breathe. We call out to all families who continue their fight for justice for a fair trial. We will make a press statement on behalf of all those who have been treated unfairly in front of the Ministry of Justice on Friday, 24 May, at 3pm."

'They know Erdoğan takes their side'

Speaking afterward, Emine Şenyaşar reiterated that she wanted justice and said: "They killed my entire family, they killed my family in our shop, and then they killed them in the hospital. They killed my children with great cruelty. My children and I were fasting. I was passing by the shop and the shop was full of customers. No one was traveling because of the fast, but they had a lot of people behind them and were traveling on the day of fasting to massacre. Afterward, Halil Yıldız killed my children. They are many, they are crowded, Halil Yıldız said to them, 'Go shoot and kill them all, Erdoğan will not put you in prison.' Then they killed my children. My children's father and I went to the shop. There was blood everywhere. They said they took our sons to the hospital. While my husband and I entered the hospital, they came and stabbed my husband too."

'I want justice for everyone'

Emine Şenyaşar continued: "What kind of state is this, what kind of government is this? Their criminals are wandering around Urfa. My son stays in a cell alone. We cannot see him properly and even the lawyer cannot visit him properly. I am calling on everyone, those whose children are in prison, those whose children have died, to join us in front of the Ministry of Justice on 24 May."