A delegation of IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) visited the vigil of Emine and Ferit Şenyaşar in Urfa on Wednesday. Emine Şenyaşar is the widow of Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar and mother of their joint sons Celal and Adil. The three men were victims of lynchings carried out on the sidelines of a campaign tour of AKP deputy Ibrahim Halil Yıldız by his armed bodyguards and relatives in the district of Suruç just days before the June 2018 parliamentary and presidential elections. Turkish judicial authorities have shown no interest in solving the murders completely. Yıldız and his mafia gang continue to enjoy a life of freedom, and only one of 23 attackers has been convicted so far.

"The massacre took place in front of my mother's eyes"

Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit, who was also injured in the attack, have been sitting outside the Palace of Justice in Urfa every day since March 9 last year to demand punishment for the killers of their family members. Today, mother and son also came to the province from Suruç, 42 kilometers away, to demand justice. The vigil has so far been supported by thousands of people with solidarity visits.

The IPPNW delegation was accompanied by lawyer Fazilet Taştan Arserim, vice president of the Urfa Bar Association. Ferit Şenyaşar told the delegation about what happened on June 14, 2018, and showed a photo of an ambulance that was also attacked at the time. The survivor said that the massacre was being covered up because an AKP deputy was involved. Yet the evidence is clear, Ferit Şenyaşar said: "A doctor posted footage of the massacre at the hospital on his social media account. The massacre took place in front of my mother."

Dr. Gisela Penteker is a physician in Lower Saxony. She has been active in the peace movement for decades and is the Turkey representative of the German section of the IPPNW. In this context, she has long participated in delegation trips to the Kurdish region of Turkey, to Northern Syria/Rojava and to Iraq/Southern Kurdistan, in order to get an up-to-date picture of the political and social situation in this region on the spot. Penteker stated that the delegation will include the case of the Şenyaşar family in its report on the delegation trip.

Meanwhile, the meeting in front of the Urfa Courthouse was filmed by the police in their usual manner. When the delegation members protested, the police officers moved away from the immediate area. The Turkish authorities and the AKP deputy involved are uncomfortable with the permanent vigil. 71-year-old Emine Şenyaşar has been taken into custody several times, and several trials are also underway against her for alleged insulting offenses. Most of the lawsuits have been brought by Ibrahim Halil Yıldız, the main perpetrator of the Şenyaşars' murders. In February, Emine Şenyaşar was fined in one of these trials - for insulting a public official.

The Massacre of the Şenyaşar Family

Ten days before the parliamentary election on June 24, 2018, AKP deputy Ibrahim Halil Yıldız, accompanied by relatives and bodyguards, visited the Şenyaşar family farm in Suruç. After a verbal argument, Yıldız's bodyguards opened fire. Mehmet, Celal and Adil Şenyaşar were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds, where two of them were ultimately murdered. The coroner's autopsy of Celal Şenyaşar revealed bullet impacts from at least six firearms of various calibers. In Adil Şenyaşar's case, cuts and stab wounds were found in 14 places on the body, as well as impact wounds with hard objects. The report said that Adil had been subjected to "extreme violence." Seventeen bullets of various calibers were found in his body. Of these projectiles, five were fatal. Only two of the bullets were not fired from close range. The father, Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar, who had rushed to the hospital on foot, was severely injured there by blows to the head from an oxygen tank. He died a day later, while the funeral of his two sons was attacked by police with tear gas.