The court’s detailed ruling says the gunshot and explosive residue retrieved from the children’s clothes were not inspected to determine how they ended up on the clothing. Despite this fact, the court still considered the residue evidence and issued sentences. The court also considered the children giving their depositions in Kurdish to be “negative behavior”.

The court announced the detailed ruling on the 11 children who were trapped in Amed’s Sur district for 104 days due to the clashes that started after the curfew declared on November 28, 2015 and were removed from the district in two groups on March 3-7, 2016.

3 children were on trial in this case and they were issued a total of 36 years in prison. The detailed ruling announced by the Diyarbakır Juvenile High Criminal Court includes that the children said they were trapped in Sur and did not accept the allegations.

The expert report on the explosive and gunshot residue like Antimon, HDX and RDX found on the children’s bodies and clothes states that determining how the explosive residue contaminated the clothes and bodies is outside their area of expertise and it would be appropriate to get an opinion from the Bomb Disposal and Investigation Directorate. But the court did not ask for an opinion on how the explosive residue actually got there, and used the residue itself as “evidence” against the children.

DEFENSE IN KURDISH CONSIDERED NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR

The detailed ruling shows witness testimony as evidence that the children participated in the clashes in the district and aided the YPS members. The court also considered the children giving their depositions in Kurdish to be negative behavior and refused to reduce the sentence.

SENTENCED BECAUSE HE WAS WOUNDED

16-year-old F.Y. was removed from Sur in a wounded state and later received a 4 year 5 months 10 days prison sentence. The reasoning behind this sentence is significant: F.Y. gave a deposition in the prosecutor’s office on the allegations against him and said, “I did not participate in any clashes. We were inside a house, and the security forces threw hand grenades in there. I was wounded on my foot and on my hip. These were my only wounds. The shrapnel from the grenade could have left marks on my body. There were tanks firing all around us, so that could be the reason why swabs show explosive and gunshot residue.”

The court said the following on the reasoning for F.Y.’s sentence: “The juvenile delinquent was wounded when he was captured. Residue from powerful explosives like HMX, RDX and TNT were detected on the 5 pieces of metal removed from his body. Regarding his actions until March of 2016, the juvenile delinquent is understood to have committed the crime of joining the organization whose characteristics are stated in the chapter 1 of the article 314 in the Turkish Penal Code, entering under the command of the hierarchical structure that controls the organization and thus displaying organic ties with the organization through concrete actions, making him directly commit the crime of membership to a terrorist organization.”

HISTORY OF THE CASE

The 11 children trapped inside the Sur district for 104 days of clashes were removed from the district through the corridor opened on March 3, 2016. The children were subjected to torture as they were detained by the police and the army. 3 out of the 11 children were arrested in the court they were referred to, and the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit against the 11 children between ages 12 and 17 on allegations of “membership to a terrorist organization”. The indictment showed other children identifying the accused out of a photo line-up as evidence, and claimed that the children entering abandoned houses to find food and shelter constituted robbery.

The case continued for a year in the Diyarbakır Juvenile High Criminal Court and the lawyers’ and the children’s demand to have the proceeding expanded were rejected. The court issued a verdict this June, and postponed the 2.5 years of prison M.F.D., S.K., F.B, M.S.K. and A.A received for “membership to a terrorist organization”.

The court issued 3 years 4 months in prison for minors R.A., R.H. and Ş.A for “membership to a terrorist organization”, 4 years 5 months 10 days for F.Y. and M.Ç. and 5 years 4 months for Ö.S. The court issued a total of 36 years 8 months and 20 days in prison for the 11 children, and decided for the continuation of the detention of the 3 children.

The children’s lawyer appealed the verdict at the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice.