Cizre Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has completed the investigation on policeman Ömer Yeğit who caused the death of two little brothers in Şırnak's Silopi district on May 3rd.

The armored vehicle driven by policemen Ömer Yeğit crashed into a home while patrolling in Karşıyaka neighbourhood. 7 years old Muhammed Yıldırım and his 6-year-old brother Furkan, both of whom were sleeping at home, got seriously injured as result of the crash, after which policemen left the armored vehicle at the scene and fled. Residents later rushed the two kids to Silopi Public Hospital where both of them lost their lives despite the medical efforts. The policeman who was driving the armored vehicle was arrested 5 days later, after public outcry against the brutal murder of the two little brothers.

The investigation prepared by Cizre Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has been accepted by Cizre 2nd Heavy Penal Court.

The indictment stated that Furkan Yıldırım had already lost his life by the time he was brought to hospital, while Muhammed Yıldırım’s heart was still beating on arrival, but stopped 2 minutes after reaching the hospital.

The indictment, according to which the brothers lost their lives due to heavy fractures in the skulls, claimed that there was no camera surveillance system installed in the armored vehicle engaged in the incident.

The indictment asked for prison sentence starting from 2 years up to 15 years for both the police officer Ömer Yeğit and his chief Murat Maden who assigned a task to him.

The indictment also includes the testimony of the slain boys’ relative Ahmet Yıldırım who had stated that the police officers that came to the scene after the incident did not provide any help, and the little brothers could be retrieved from the rubble only with the help of the neighbors.

Turkish state forces have committed serious crimes, particularly in recent years, in Northern Kurdistan and Turkey where a system of impunity for 'security forces' prevails.

Many Kurdish towns and neighborhoods were razed to the ground and hundreds of civilians were massacred by state forces that are granted a full impunity. No single member of state forces has been prosecuted or charged for these crimes.

Police officers, soldiers and village guards have been endowed with full authority to kill, especially after the declaration of the State of Emergency, by the AKP government and they are recklessly killing people in Northern Kurdistan. In these last couple of months, armored vehicles running over and killing civilians on the streets and the highways have occurred with increased frequency. In many of these incidents, the AKP mercenaries don’t even feel the need to stop and look at what happened. They are never arrested, they are never indicted. They are never even asked to give statements. In executions by armored vehicles, evidence is either tampered with in favor of the murderers or outright destroyed.

Since July last year, when the State of Emergency was declared, 25 civilians have been murdered with armored vehicles. Police and military armored vehicles have caused the following deaths and wounds:

In Mardin’s Nusaybin district, on June 9, the armored vehicle transporting special operations police hit a motorcycle and M. Ş. B. (17) was seriously wounded. The child is still in the hospital, and one of his legs have been amputated below the knee.

In Van on April 28, one of the two civilians hit by a police vehicle was Sami Uçan, and he lost his life in the hospital. 7 people were wounded in the city by armored vehicles that week.

In Van city center on April 18, an armored vehicle hit two people on 2 Nisan Avenue. Abdulvahap Taş was seriously wounded, his lungs burst as a result of the impact and he lost consciousness. Taş stayed in the hospital for days.

In Karşıyaka neighborhood in Şırnak’s Silopi district on April 3, a panzer type police vehicle tore through the wall of a home. Brothers Muhammet (7) and Furkan (6) Yıldırım were sleeping in the room the vehicle burst into and they were killed.

In Diyarbakır’s Ofis district on March 29, a Kirpi type military armored vehicle hit the minibus waiting for passengers in the stop. 4 passengers were wounded. In April 2016, in the same spot, a Kirpi type military armored vehicle had hit Hatun Elhuman (55) trying to cross the street and Elhuman had lost her life.

In Şırnak’s İdil district on March 21, a civilian vehicle on its way to Cizre was hit by an Ejder type armored vehicle. Okan İnce, Bahadır Beyazlıoğlu and another unidentified man lost their lives in the incident.

In the police checkpoint on the Siirt-Batman road on March 3, Kerem Arslan (34) was ran over by an armored vehicle and lost his life. The vehicle was backing up and Arslan was on the phone at the time.

In Mardin’s Dargeçit district on February 9, Berfin Dilek (7) was going home from school when she was hit by an armored police vehicle. She lost her life.

In Cizre on October 24, 2016, Hakan Sarak (5) was playing on the street when he was ran over and killed by an armored police vehicle. The police who ran the boy over didn’t stop and fled the scene. Sarak bled to death.

In Yüksekova marketplace on October 8, 2016 a Kobra type armored vehicle opened fire on civilians. Citizens Aydın Tümen, Serhat Buldan, Rahmi Sefalı and Nejdet İşözü lost their lives in the shooting, and 2 others were wounded. The massacre caused outrage in the district. Later, the authorities claimed the armored vehicle’s gun had “jammed”.

In Dersim’s Seyid Rıza Square on September 6, 2016, a Kobra type armored vehicle ran over an old woman named Naciye Özdemir (71). The passersby surrounded the vehicle when it tried to flee and stayed there until the prosecutor came to the grounds. But this murder was also covered up later in the process.

In Hacıbekir (Xaçort) Neighborhood in Van’s central İpekyolu district on August 30, 2016, Mustafa Duman (17) was sitting in his yard when an armored vehicle randomly opened fire. One of the bullets hit Duman on the head and he was seriously wounded. He lost his life on September 7 while under treatment in the hospital.

In Van city center on July 24, 2016, 4 year old Taha Kılıç was ran over by a Kirpi type armored vehicle in front of the Ipekyolu District Security Directorate and lost his life. The family claimed the police intentionally murdered their son.

In Yüksekova on July 18, 2016, in Xirvatê (Büyükçiftlik) town, Sürmi İnce (55) was bringing breakfast for her children who were harvesting crops in the fields when she was shot at from an armored vehicle and died.