On October 8, 2016, Serhat Buldan, Rahmi Safhalı, Necdet İşözü and Aydın Tümen had lost their lives and Şemsettin Kaya and Mehmet Ali Kaya had been wounded when Special Operations police officer İ.M. opened fire from the armored vehicle he was driving on the Cengiz Topel Avenue in Yüksekova district of Hakkari.

A scandal has come to light in the lawsuit on the massacre.

The case had been transferred to the Diyarbakır High Criminal Court No.3, and on the victims’ lawyer’s demand, the court asked the Ministry of the Interior whether an administrative investigation had been launched against the accused police officer.

The ministry responded to the inquiry and sent over the certificates of high merit and achievement given to the defendant İ.M. by the Security Directorate and the General Staff.

PARTICIPATED IN GENOCIDAL ATTACKS

The ministry said İ.M. had been awarded certificates of merit and achievement during the genocidal attacks between December 2015 and January 2016 in Şırnak’s Silopi district and praised his “service”.

The Ground Forces Command, the Silopi District Governorate and the Istanbul Security Directorate have awarded İ.M. with certificates of merit and achievement which say, “You have become the most unique symbol of the presence, unity and togetherness and the love of country of the Turkish nation with the valiance and courage you displayed for the indivisible unity of the fatherland and the nation.”

The documents talk about a “love of the country”, thank the officer in the name of the Turkish people and “wish continued success”.

İ.M. had been arrested after the massacre, but had been released before even 1 year in remand.