Turkey: dissapearences and extra-ju

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

Subject: Turkey: dissapearences and extra-judical killings, some examples

TURKEY: DISAPPEARANCES AND EXECUTIONS, A FEW EXAMPLES.

Preface.

Two words are sufficient to describe the last fifteen years in Turkey:
Disappearances and executions. About 25.000 people were slaughtered by
stateforces in the last fifteen years, including the people who were murdered
in the villages and mountains of Kurdistan. Since 1994 alone, more than 300
people have disappeared.
Turkey has become a Latin American country between Europe and Asia. The
number of disappearances and executions increases day by day. 

This document contains documentation regarding massacres and executions that
were carried out in the big cities since 1988. Sometimes the executions were
brought before court. Approximately 150 people were executed by the criminal
investigation department. After the murders they invent "political reasons"
to justify the murders. The reason is mostly this one: "They were members of
an organisation!" On the one hand this justification serves to  prevent the
organisation of the masses, on the other hand it is a political end to create
a phobia for organisations. 
After the massacres they always investigate whether the killed people were
members of an organisation or not. This means that according to the
government it is a reason to kill somebody when he or she belongs to an
organisation. One has to point out that most executed people were not members
of an organisation. They were only guilty of being revolutionaries-democrats,
and known to the police as such. More than once the police executed people,
only for revenge.

It is remarkable that the involved police-officers mostly were the same. For
example the names of the accused officers in a recent trial in Istanbul:
Refik Kul, Mustafa Altinok, Mesut Demirbilek, Remzi Kaya, Ismail Alici,
C
neyt Yesil, Resat Altay, A. Vasfi Kara, Mehmet Baki Avci, Ismail T
rk,
Selim Kostik... 
They created an execution team that always consistes of the same officers.
Interestingly enough, in all the trails, none of the accused officers was
punished. Usualy these officers removed the evidence and they are always
protected by the courts. The orders for the executions were always coming
from the same chiefs of police: for example Mehmet Agar, Necdet Menzir,
Ramazan Er and others. 
It is remarkable that the officers are many times decorated and promoted for
participating in executions. Mehmet Agar, the chief of police in Ankara,
protected the officers who tortured and murdered Birtan Altunbas and was
shortly after promoted to chief of police in Istanbul. He gave the orders for
the execution of the 12th of July, 1990, in Istanbul. He was appointed as
governor of Ersurum, and afterwards promoted to the leadership of the
policeforce. Refik Kul, well known for executions, was promoted from super-
intendent to head of the Anti-Terrorism Department. Resat Altay was promoted
from super-intendent to deputy-chief of the Anti-Terrorism Department in
Istanbul.

Ilhami Yelekci is always acting as lawyer for these officers. Besides Ilhami
Yelekci there are no lawyers who defend the officers. Nowadays Ilhami Yelekci
is protected around the clock by police-officers he once defended. The
enumeration of the executions is not complete. However, the examples describe
the massacres that are known to the general public in Turkey. The true
numbers however are much higher as mentioned. We think it is the duty of all
progressive people to be attentive to the executions, the murders under
torture and the policy of disappearances by the police in Turkey. Otherwise,
the numbers will even rise. When you read these documents, you will see that
the numbers of executions in the last years have risen.

We call upon the progressive and democratic public, to reject the executions
and the policy of disappearances.

April 30, 1988: Salih Kul and zt
rk Acari were executed.

During a police operation in the neighbourhood of G
rsel in
Istanbul/Okmeydani, zt
rk Acari and Salih Kul were murdered. With this
bloodbath the police wanted to intimidate the people for the 1st of May. They
tried to justify the police-operation with the argument that zt
rk Acari and
Salih Kul were preparing an illegal action for the 1st of May. 

October 7, 1988: The Tuzla Massacre.

On the 7th of October, 1988, the police opened fire on a red Opel, licence
number DEG-7843, on the Tuzla-bridge on the motorway E-5. There were four
people inside. In the bodies of the people inside they found 274 bullets. A
trial was opened against the police officers for the murder of Ismail Hakki
Adali, Kemal Sogukpinar, Fevzi Yalcin and Reha Sen. Sixteen officers were
accused of the killings. The Tuzla-Trial lasted for seven years. The accused
officers, Taki S
rme, Abdullah S
zer, H
seyin Demir, Ali Cekin, Enver
Aytemur, Bayram Kartal, Fahrettin Meral, Enver Arslan, Efraim Erkek, Mehmet
Kulac, Abuzer Fidanci, Fikret Isinkaralar, Ismail Alici and Metin zt
rk were
acquitted on the 6th of February, 1995. 
Immediately after the murders, the minister of Home Affairs and the Police-
Directorate declared, that the murdered people escaped from the prison in
Kirsehir. The chief of police in Istanbul said he had given the order to
kill. Later it turned out, the murdered people were not escaped prisoners. At
the trial it was said that the people in the car opened fire when they were
summoned by the police. In contrast with this assertion, there was only one
pistol found in the car, which didn't even work. This was also stated in the
trial documents, but afterwards they enclosed a statement that they
discovered more weapons in the car. 
In the first post-mortem reports it was concluded that bullets were fired
from a distance of 35-40 centimetres. This proves that the wounded people
were later murdered by the police from close range. At the trial the lawyers
of the police officer demanded a second report from the Judicial Medical
Institute. This time the Institute declared that the range of the deadly
bullets could not be established. 
After the accused officers were acquitted, the mother of Hakki Adali, who was
murdered in Tuzla, stated: "The one who realised this massacre, is the State
itself. In 1988, immediately after the bloodbath, we charged the
perpetrators. The trial lasted for seven years and the judge gave us no
opportunity to speak, although we asked for it. Every time they threatened to
throw us out of the court-room. The last session lasted for 5-10 minutes and
the judge said 'We have to acquit them as not guilty.' "

May 1, 1989: Mehmet Akif Dalci was murdered.

On the 1st of May, 1989, the police opened fire on about 5.000 people who
wanted to celebrate May-Day. Many people were wounded and Mehmet Akif Dalci
was shot dead. The massacre was planned beforehand. The chief of police in
Istanbul, Hamdi Ardali, said: "The ordinary people should stay away of Taksin
Square". He added, in accordance with the commander of the city-gendarmerie,
that they installed an "Operation Centre". The secretary of State, Cemil
Cicek, said: "The first of May must not disappear from the calendar, but out
of the minds." 
On the 1st of May the police stopped the crowd from entering the square with
batons, sticks and guns. Mehmet Akif Dalci's friends, who wanted to celebrate
May-Day with him, identified the traffic-policeman Kazim Cakmci from pictures
in the papers as the one who killed Mehmet Akif Dalci. Later they gave a
testimony to that. The state covered the murderers on the 1st of May and did
not even charge them. 

June 12, 1990: The Cihangir Massacre.

During a police operation in the neighbourhood of Cihangir in Istanbul, G
lay
Arici and Alper Ersoy were murdered in a house. Alper Ersoy was first found
wounded. After the officers killed Alper Ersoy inside the house, they riddled
G
lay Arici's body with approximately 100 bullets. A resident of the
neighbourhood described the event as follows: "At the event in the Beskurt
Street one could hear bombs exploding and successive gunshots. The entrance
and the exit of the street were blocked by armoured cars. The gunshots and de
cries lasted for five hours."

January 16, 1991: Birtan Altunbas was murdered.

Birtan Altunbas, the chair of the "Society for Solidarity with the Youth at
the Highschools in Ankara" and the Revolutionary Youth in Ankara, was
arrested on the 9th of January. This happened at the campus of the Hacettepe-
University were he studied. 
On the 16th of January, he was delivered ill at the Military Medical Academy
G
lhane were he died. In the coroners report, which was manufactured very
quickly, it was stated that he died a natural death. The police kept his
death a secret for the public until the 22nd of January. Murat Bbrek, who
was arrested at the same time as Birtan Altunbas, and who was acquitted by
the court, stated that Birtan Altunbas was tortured with electroshocks, that
he was hanged and beaten, and was kept naked in his cell often.

February 13, 1991: Ali Agdogan was murdered.

When the people's opposition in Turkey against the Gulf War rose, Ali Riza
Agdogan was arrested while organising a protest. The shops were to stay
closed as a protest against the war. He was brought to security office of 
Beyoglu. The police had no success with their torture and the threw him from
the third floor. After several days in coma, Ali Riza Agdogan died.

March 2, 1991: Imran Aydin was murdered.

Imran Aydin was killed on the 2nd of March, 1991, in the laboratory of the
Intensive Research Torture Room (DAL). The polices stated after this murder:
"She tried to escape and then died." In the post-mortem report of the
physicians from the Judicial Medical Institute it was stated: "Natural death
as a result from bleeding of the pancreas".

April 9, 1991: The police extends the executions from Istanbul to all over
Anatolia. 

On the 9th of April, 1991, the police in Izmir surrounded a house in Izmir.
Inside were 5 revolutionaries, including 3 women. Because of the resistance
of the revolutionaries, it came to a armed conflict. Thereupon the police
threw a bomb into the building and opened intensive fire on the house. After
the throwing-in of the bomb, gas cylinders inside the house exploded and the
house caught fire. In this operation Olcay Uzun and Faruk Bayrakci were
murdered and the other 3, including 3 women, were severely wounded. After a
few hours it was declared that the revolutionaries had carried out armed
actions. The state-forces however were not able of giving the names of de
murdered revolutionaries.

May 19, 1991: The Hasanpasa Massacre.

During a police operation in Istanbul/Hasanpasa, Hatice Dilek and Ismail Oral
were murdered. The minister of then minister of Home Affairs, Abd
lkadir
Aksu, said about the massacre: "Do you want us to give them flowers, or
what?" The building, were there was supposedly armed resistance, was declared
to have been a support base. However, that was not the case. 
In the report of the house-search, conducted by the public prosecutor, it was
said that there was not a sign of bullets in the walls of the room were
Hatice Dilek was in. 
According to statements of involved officers they stood direct in front of
Hatice Dilek and he supposedly had a gun in one hand and a bomb in the other.
In this way, a armed struggle occurred. However, the post-mortem reports
proof that the bullets who caused the death were fired from close range. One
bullet entered the skull behind the left ear and left the skull trough the
forehead. 
The trial-statements of the accused officers about the death of Ismail Oral
are contradictory. 
The operation, which started at 11 p.m., ended ten minutes later. According
to the registration of the public prosecutor, he was informed at 0.30 A.M. So
the accused had a lot of time to let the evidence disappear.
Among the evidence which disappeared are the clothes of the deceased. The
medical personal, who brought the bodies to the hospital on the same day,
stated that the bodies were dressed. The policemen who were involved in the
operation stated the same, they even described the clothes. The hospital
personal stated that they handed over the clothes to the policemen who
brought the bodies to the hospital. This evidence, and a lot more, was to be
hidden and destroyed, and although this was known, the members of the court
did not insist on seeing this evidence and they acted as if this evidence did
not exist. The 12 policemen were thereupon acquitted.

June 28, 1991: Perihan Demirer was murdered.

During a police attack on house no. 12 in Kalas Street in Istanbul,
Besiktas/Yenimahalle, Perihan Demirer was murdered. She was the only person
in the house. 
Approximately 300 officers surrounded the building. After the operation,
which lasted for 20 minutes, the police was unable to give the name of
Perihan, because they did not know who they killed. 
After this event the Association for Justice and Freedom demanded the
prosecutor to investigate the case, but they didn't even get an answer.

July 4, 1991: Their crime: speaking Kurdish.

In Avcilar, Istanbul, a policemen killed two people with the motive that they
had spoken and sung in Kurdish. The officer stated: "They started speaking
and singing in Kurdish, then I got angry."

July 12, 1991: The Massacre of the 12th of July.

On the 12th of July, 1991, Istanbul witnessed an extraordinary day. The
districts of Dikilitas, Balmumcu, Nisantasi en Yeni Levent were completely
surrounded. Exits and entrances were blocked. 
Almost the entire policeforce of Istanbul were ordered there by radio at 7.30
P.M. The people in the houses were warned by loudspeakers not to leave their
houses and to stay away from their windows. 
Shortly after these warnings one could hear detonating bombs and gunshots.
When the operation was over, 10 people were found murdered in above-mentioned
districts: Niyazi Aydin, Ibrahim Erdogan, Ibrahim Ilci, mer Coskunirmak,
Y
cel Simsek, Nazmi T
rkcan, Zeynep Eda Berk, Cavit zkaya, Bilal Karakaya
and Hasan Eliuygun.
The chief of police, Mehmet Agar, ordered this with the words: "You have to
do the necessary things."
Two days later, Fintz Dikme en Buluthan Kangalgil were "found dead"
according to the same method in Ankara. 
The chief of police in Istanbul, Mehmet Agar, congratulated the officers who
were involved in the operation. 
After this bloodbath they appointed Mehmet Agar to governor of Erzurum and
later to general chief of police.
During the trial, the post-mortem reports showed that the accused were lying.
Until this day, in the trials against the officers, there are no judicial
steps taken that would harm these policemen.
Although the police operations officialy were carried out after statements of
informers, there are no written accounts of these statements. 
In the same way things are handled with the weapons and the bullets of the
police: the registrationnumbers of the weapons and the sort of ammunition are
not mentioned. The statements which were manufactured after the massacres are
almost always signed by the responsible officer only and handed over to the
court. The public prosecutor visits the sight only after the police has taken
steps to destroy the evidence. The demands for investigations on the spot of
the events are slackened in the phase of preparation and during the trial,
until a important part of the evidence which could give clearness about the
massacre is no more available. 
Yet, it is possible in some trials to shed light over the truth by post-
mortem reports and eye-witness accounts. The judicial medical report
documents the one and other.
In the post-mortem report about Y
cel Simsek, who was murdered on the 12th of
July, 1991, in Balmumcu, the following was established: "Wounds caused by
metal parts arising from detonating explosives." The detailed post-mortem
report, made on the 5th of August about Zeynep Eda Berk, who was murdered in
the office in Dikilitas, states that the 5 entering bullets all came from
behind and left the body at the front. 
After the report the clothes were to be examined to determine the range of
the bullets. But the clothes disappeared, despite the inquiry of the court.
When it is the goal not to judge objectively, but to acquit the accused, then
no evidence can convince the court. During the trials against the involved
officers, one could observe the following: 31st of March, 1994: the 6th
Criminal Court  of Istanbul decided to examine the place of events. 4th of
June, 1994: the court did not even ask for the statements of the involved
officers. The court dismissed the demands of the complainer's lawyers.  8th
of February, 1995: the already three year lasting showtrial ends with
acquittals.

September 3, 1991: Murdered in her university.

Seher Sahin, artstudent at the university of Minar Sinan, was a member of the
Student Federation of Youth Associations in Turkey (TDEF). The university
was attacked by the police during the introduction-days for new students,
when there were informationstands. Seher Sahin was hunted by the police to
the third floor of the university building. There was no way to escape. She
resisted the policemen. Thereupon the officers of the Anti-Terror Department
threw her out of the window. Seher Sahin was brought immediately to the
hospital by her friends, however she died on the 8th of September. Later it
was established at the post-mortem inquest that several bones were broken.
After this, her father, Hayati Sahin, complained with the help of 25 lawyers
at the public prosecution. He wanted the responsible policemen to be found,
and that charges were brought up against them for premeditated murder.
However, he did not succeed.

January 27, 1992: The Mahmutbey Massacre.

On the 27th of January, 1992, three youngsters, Ismail Cengiz Gznek, Servet
Sahin en Mustafa Ates, were murdered in Mahutbey/Istanbul. Again the police
came with their well-known excuse: "They answered the appeal to surrender
with opening fire. After the following armed struggle they were found dead."
The human rights association IHD declared however: "It is established that
this house was not from an organisation, it was continually inhabited by a
family of six. It was established that all bullets were fired in the
direction of the killed youngsters. It was testified that the security forces
looted the house, smashed all windows, and to inflict even more damage, broke
all glasses and plates. According to the family, one youngster was killed in
the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in the bedroom. Relatives
stated, according to neighbours, that the murdered Cengiz Gznek was thrown
to the floor and murdered by policeteams who broke down the doors and stormed
the house, although he shouted: "We surrender". All murdered people were
dressed in in-house clothing and the weapons were at the left of them, at a
distance." 
The policemen were accused and trialed for the killing the three youngsters.
The first court-session was on the 10th of April, 1995, before the 3d
Criminal Chamber in Bakirky. The trial was asked for already three years
ago. The convicted officers, chief commissioner Remzi Kaya, Sefik Kul, Hasan
Erdogan, Mehmet Sakir, Ismail Alici, Bayran Kartal, H
seyin Dogru and C
neyt
Yesil stated that they provided security in the area and they did not open
fire. However, Birol Abonoz, Selim Kostik and Adnan Tasdemir stated the
following: "We put on bullet-proof vests, went to the housedoor and broke
open the door. Before we went in, we shot aimlessly at the killed persons who
had opened fire on us. We just fulfilled our task and want our acquittal." 

March, 1992: B
lent lk
 was murdered.

B
lent lk
, editor-in-chief and owner of the paper "Krfeze Bakis", who was
arrested in March, 1992, was found by a forester. he was found, wounded, on
the 12 kilometres long road from Bursa to Uludag. 
B
lent lku was brought to a hospital but could not be saved. According to
the forester, who found him, he was blindfolded. Later it was stated in the
examinations that the body was naked and that there was no blindfold. The
death of B
lent lk
 was caused by a bullet, fired from a distance of 40
centimetres. The bullet entered the left eye and shattered the skull. Open
and clear signs of torture were found on his body, on his hands - and
ankles - were signs of hand-cuffs and ropes, his arm-pits showed that he was
hanged by them, his forehead and temples showed signs of cigaret-burns, and
his fingers showed inkstands, stemming from taking fingerprints.

April 30, 1992: The Adana Massacre.

During the police-operation on the 30th of April, 1992, in the Kurtulus
district of Adana, Siddik Celik, Esma Polat and G
ven Keskin were murdered.
At this massacre, in which three people died, not even one bullet was fired
from the house, there were no weapons in the house. The police did not have
any document that there was a weapon inside the house.

May 4, 1992: The Massacre in Dikmen/Ankara.

On the 4th of May, 1992, Halil Ates, Solmaz Karabulut. Fikri Keles and Ali
Yilmaz were killed by the police in the Sokull-quarter in Dikmen/Ankara. The
correspondent H. Uysal, who reported about this massacre, said: "Without the
summons "Surrender!", the house was fired upon for 20 minutes with 15-20
machine-guns. From inside the house the firing was answered with only one
revolver. Then the house was once again shot with machine-gun volleys. In
that moment a women's voice was heard in the house. Thereupon one of the
officers demanded two bombs and threw them, one after the other, inside the
house. After the explosion the police summoned: "You are surrounded,
surrender!" From the eye-witness accounts it is evident that this was an open
massacre.

July 13, 1992: The Kasimpasa Massacre.

On the 13th of July, 1992, units from the Anti-Terror Department, Special
Units and subordinated officers organised and carried out a raid on a house
in Kulaksiz in Kalimpasa/Istanbul. During this operation Nurten Demir and
Ismail Akarcesme were murdered. In the trial about this massacre they are
searching for clothes for already three years. According to the post-mortem
report, three of the seven bullets, who hit Nurten Demir, were fired from a
distance and four of them were fired point-blank. But because the clothes
went missing, the exact distance can not be determined.

July 19, 1992: The Operation in Kartal.

During raids on houses on the 19th of July, 1992,  in Kartal Maltepe and in
Pendik G
zelyali, Emre Bilgin, Ramazan Ceviz, Nurg
zel Yasar and Hasan Demir
were executed. Against the officers, involved in the massacre, no trial was
opened, they were shielded.

August 13, 1992: The Ankara Massacre.

On the 13th of August the districts of Maltepe en K
c
k Esat in Ankara were
surrounded by approximately 3.000 policemen. Armoured cars, machine-guns and
units with bullet-proof vests took their positions. Also the minister of Home
Affairs, Ismet Sezgin, the Secretary of State and responsible for human
rights, Mehmet Kahraman, chief of police Yilmaz Ergun and the governor of
Ankara, Erdogan Sahinoglu, were present. 
It was probably the first time in world history that high-ranking state and
government-officials came to witness a massacre and give their consent. 
After the operation, also the state prosecutors Nuh Mete Y
ksel and lk

Cozkun from the State Security Court came to the scene and accompliced by
hiding evidence and not allowing the press and lawyers to the scene.
After the massacre the police tried  to stage support by the people of
Ankara. They entered houses and threatened people, ordering them to hang
Turkish flags out of their windows. A group of plain-cloth policemen shouted
slogans, approving the massacre. The police, who stopped the lawyers from
entering the house, also tried to conduct the post- mortem investigation
without them. The lawyers were locked in a room from the Judicial Medical
building and they wanted to beat them there.

August 31, 1992: Ekrem Akin Savas was murdered.

On the 31st of August, Ekrim Akin Savas, student from the faculty for
literature at the University of Istanbul, was followed by the police in
Resitpasa. He was murdered when he tried to hide in a house. The order to
execute him came from Necdet Menzir who at that moment was with the president
of the government and his deputy. 

28. September, 1992: Kayhan Tazeoglu and Fatma S
zen were murdered.

Two revolutionaries, Kayhan Tazeoglu and Fatma S
zen, were murdered by the
police who attacked their house in Beyerbeyi/Istanbul. 
The policeofficers fired 25 bullets into the body of Kayhan Tazeoglu and 15
bullets into Fatma S
zen. 
After the massacre a trial was opened against the officers who committed the
murder before the Great Criminal Chamber in sk
dar. At the session of 3
February, 1994, only 5 of the 12 officers were present. The lawyers from the
barristers-at-law office asked for the detention of all the accused because
of the risk for escape or destruction of evidence. The court dismissed this
request, citing no. 3713 from the Anti-Terror Law, article 15/1. This
happened despite the fact that the Constitutional Court had abolished this
law on the 27th of January, 1993, in verdict no. 21478 and the publication of
this verdict in the official judicial magazine. 
The statements of the policemen who came to the trial were as followed: "It
all happened exactly as was the chief-commissioner of police ... stated. I am
not guilty and want to be acquitted." The public prosecutor who opened this
trial, did not even once ask a question to clear the case. According to the
post-mortem report Kayhan Tazeoglu was hit by only two bullets, fired from a
distance, and Fatma S
zen was hit by one. As always, evidence was destroyed:
the clothes of the victims could not be found! The court did not find one
sufficient piece of evidence. Also the trial against commissioner Hasan
Erdogan and the officers H
seyin Dogrul, Senol Ayg
n, mer Kaplan, Selim
Kostik, mer Caliskan, Nizamettin Tuncer, Aydin Oruc Aydemir, Enver Karaban,
Ali Cetkin, Ali Osman Akar and Efraim Cinar ended with acquittal of the
accused. After the acquittal the lawyers of the barristers-at-law office of
the People pointed at the fact that they would bring this case before the
European Human Rights Court. They said: "Because we knew that this was a show
trial, we were not surprised by the verdict. What did disappoint us, was the
fact that this trial was conducted in the shortest time, without any
investigations. Until now, no massacre-trial ended so quick and in such a
short time."

28-29. September, 1992: Nakbule S
rbeli was murdered.

In the night from the 28-29th September, the police and special units
surrounded Nakbule S
rmeli's house in Icerenky, Istanbul. The police, known
for their executions and torture, wanted to commit the murder this time
without witnesses and without causing a sensation. That's the reason why they
tried to prevent that the murder became known to the press.

10. October, 1992: Sultan Canik was murdered.

On the 10th. of October, 1992, Sultan Canik was murdered in the third floor
of an apartment building in Muhittin st
ndagstreet by units from the Anti-
Terror Department, subordinated to the Security Department. He was killed in
a hail of bullets. This operation was led by the chief of police from
Istanbul, Mecdet Menzir, personally.

November, 1992, Remzi Basalak and Saban Budak were murdered.

In November, 1992, Remzi Basalak, Saban Budak and Mustafa Yasar were arrested
by the police in Adana. Saban Budak was killed on the spot. A few hours
later, Remzi Basalak and Mustafa Yasar were shown to the press, heavily
tortured. Remzi Basalak told the journalists that he was tortured and he
cursed the police. The press was immediately removed. Remzi Basalak was
tortured again and murdered. Their was a trial against 14 officers for the
1st and 2nd Criminal Court in Ankara after Mustafa Yasar declared he could
recognise the murderers of Remzi Basalak and said he wanted to testify as a
witness. However, he was not allowed as a witness. The post-mortem reports
state that Remzi Basalak "died of cerebral haemorrhage". As in other trials,
Saban Budak's clothes were never found again. For appearances only, officers
were put on patrol-duty. But as always, the trial will end in acquittals. 

27. February, 1993: Lawyer Metin Can and physician Hasan Kaya were murdered.

The bodies of Metin Can, a lawyer, and Hasan Kaya, a physician, kidnapped on
the 21st of February, 1993 by the contra-guerrilla, were found, on 27
February on the Dinar-Bridge, 15 km. from Dersim. Relatives and
representatives of democratic mass-organisations who came to the bridge to
identify the corpses, found clear signs of torture on the bodies. At 500
meters from the bridge where the bodies were found, there is a policestation.
Both Can and Kaya received threats before they died more than once because
they defended and examined revolutionaries - democrats.

March 25, 1993: The Bahcelievler Massacre.

March 25, 1993, Recai Dincel, Ibrahim Yalcin and Avni Turan were killed in
Bahcelievler, Istanbul. 
During the struggle, which lasted for 4,5 hours, the policeforces used more
than 2.000 bullets. Tens of bombs were thrown into the house. After the three
people who were inside were killed, their bodies were exposed to a hail of
bullets. Later people saw that there were 25-30 bullets in each corps. During
the fight the press was not allowed to come closer than 200 meters.
Ahmet D
zg
n Y
ksel, lawyer from the People's Barristers Office and committee
member from zg
r Der Marmara, was present during the post-mortem inquest. He
was hindered and threatened by the police. According to his reports there had
been an open and clear execution: "Heavy guns were used in the operation with
the intention to kill. More than half of the bullets were lethal. The bullets
that hit I. Yalcin Arkan en Recai Dincel, entering and leaving the heads
above the ears, indicate that the shots were fired point blank. After Avni
Turan and Recai Dincel were murdered, they were shot in their feet to suggest
an idle escape-attempt and resistance by the suspects. Furthermore, the
bodies were hit by quick-firing guns from the front, as well as from the
back."

April 23, 1993: Ibrahim Yalcin was murdered.

Ibrahim Yalcin managed to escape from prison in February, 1993. Until that
time he was repeatedly threatened by the police and received threatening
letters from several sources.
After his escape, Ibrahim Yalcin was wanted with an "order to kill". At the
time I. Yalcin was killed, he was alone and unarmed. This was confirmed by
witnesses. During the trial against the policemen, on January 25, 1995, the
witness Kismet Sahin confirmed her previous testimony and replied to the
question "Did Ibrahim Yalcin carry a gun in his hand?": "No. Between us there
was a distance of 4-5 meters, but I didn't see a gun in his hand." All
witnesses of the massacre (Emel Yilmaz, Kiymet Sahin, Song
l zden, Nihal
D
lger and Dursun Sen) pointed out that they did not hear an appeal to
"Surrender!"

April 30, 1993: Ugur and Seng
l were murdered.

April 30, 1993, Ugur Yasar Kilic and Seng
l Yildiran were murdered in their
student apartment in Kadiky, Istanbul. The police, who stormed the building
without warning and broke the doors, opened fire on the apartment. Thereupon
Ugur Yasar Kilic, Seng
l Yildiran and Erg
l Uzundiz fled to the roof. They
were unarmed. 
Erg
l Uzundiz confirmed this later in her testimony. The police, who pursued
the three unarmed persons with their weapons ready, murdered Ugur Yasar Kilic
and Seng
l Yildiran on the roof. 
Erg
l Uzundiz managed to safe herself by hiding. The bodies were first
brought to the apartment, and later on to the street. There they were shown
to the press. 
Normally the police does not conduct in this manner; they show the corpses on
the spot. The police wanted to do some things in the apartment and tried to
lead away the attention from the house. 
Indeed, the trial documents state that there were weapons and posters found
in the apartment. There were posters in the apartment, because these students
were members of IY-DER (Solidarity Association of University Youth in
Istanbul) and they had prepared posters for the May-Day festivities, the next
day. 
The only surviving witness of the massacre, Erg
l Uzundiz, gave after a long
time hiding for the police, a statement to the public prosecutor on August 2,
1993, in the palace of justice in Istanbul. Thereupon she was immediately
arrested. 
They started a trial against the policemen under the filenumber:, 93/281, for
the 3. State Security Court. The court decided that "Erg
l Uzundiz does not
have to be heard as a witness in the preliminary investigation." 
Her own case was heard separate, casenumber 93/22, for the 2. State Security
Court. Obviously, the court tried to hush up the matter. The trial was
separated and combined twice more. In this way they prolonged the
bureaucratic procedures and Erg
l was hindered to make use of her right to
speak. In the end they combined the cases again and during the last
courtsession the prosecutor demanded 15 years in prison against Erg
l
Uzundiz. 
The prosecutor came up with only one proof: Erg
l had been in the same house
as the murdered people. Apparently the prosecutor thought it unjust that
Erg
l managed to save her live, and therefore she had to be punished. His
reasoning was even more peculiar: according to the prosecutor all the
deceased were members of an organisation. Proof for their membership: they
were killed. This trial lasted for two years. The court concurred with the
prosecutor and Erg
l was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

June 5, 1993: Murat G
l was murdered.

On June 5, 1993, Murat G
l was murdered in the district of Cakmak in
Sincan/Ankara in house no. 160. This murder was later also adjusted to the
trial. Besides the policemen, also the chief of police in Ankara, Mehmet
Cansever and state prosecutor Nuh Mete Y
ksel were in State Security
Courtroom. Supposedly Murat G
l was summoned a few times to surrender. Nuh
Mete Y
ksel declared: "We told him, surrender. Clear him away." In this way
they committed another murder.

June 26, 1993: D. Mehmet Eroglu and Y
ksel G
neysel were murdered.

On June 23, 1993, Devrim Mehmet Eroglu and Y
ksel G
neysel had a meeting with
the candidate for the chairmanship of the districtcounsel, Mehmet Altuncu
from the Social Democratic People's Party (SHP, later called the People's
Party of the Republic, CHP). The SHP is a coalition partner of the DYP. After
a while they left and Devrim and Y
ksel said they would come again to talk. A
short time later Mehmet Altuncu betrayed the two to the police who
immediately took preparations for their execution. On June 26, two policemen
in workingmen's clothes were seen, working in the place where Altuncu works.
Two other officers took position in Altuncu's office. In the meantime,
Altuncu moved a meeting, "SHP-Chairmanship for the districtcounsel",
scheduled for that day in his office, to another place. That's why there were
no witnesses. Totally unaware of a trap, the two revolutionaries were
surprised with gunfire as soon as they entered the office. First, the police
shot them in their legs and both were wounded. In this state they could no
longer escape. After this they both were murdered, point blank. After the
operation the deputy of the Security chancellery of Gazi Osman Pasa explained
their success as follows: "This operation took only 30 seconds, no, even 20
seconds." The testimonies show that there wasn't a fight. 
The families of D. M. Eroglu and Y. G
neysel filed charges and the trial
started on October 11. before the 1st. Criminal Crime Court in Ey
p. Four
policemen were present. They stated they had only defended themselves.
However, the words of the traitor Mehmet Altuncu, who was heard as a witness,
"The policemen came on this day to me at 10.00 o'clock before the operation
and they warned me that there was going to be a shooting", show clearly that
they came with the intention to kill.
The prosecutor of Gazi Osman Pasa charged the policemen  for "execution
without verdict", a rare exception. Although the prosecutor of Gazi Osman
Pasa prepared the charges himself, the trial was moved to Ey
p because Gazi
Osman Pasa does not have a court for heavy crimes.

July 16, 1993: Kemal Ayg
l was murdered.

Kemal Ayg
l was executed on the street in Sirinevler on July 16. 1993. This
execution was extraordinary in the way that it is impossible to decide if
Kemal could have been arrested alive, because Kemal Ayg
l was already
arrested. An eye-witness, who does not want to give his name and who saw the
whole event, said in an interview with "Kurtulus" magazine: "This very young
men was held by his arms by the policemen and they flogged him. The oldest
officer, a super-intendent I think, shouted: 'Kill him, let him kick the
bucket.' Then he added: 'Leave him to me, I'll finish him'. The young man
yelled to the policemen before he died, 'You murderers!... We will hold you
responsible for this!' He was held by two officers. Then the super-intendent
came closer and first shot him in his knee from a distance of 15-20
centimetres. Then he emptied his weapon on Kemal Ayg
l. When a women started
to shout 'You murderers, you killed him in the middle of the street!', the
policemen called her names and they fired in the air." There was no inquiry
in this murder to which all the inhabitants of 12. Street could testify and
the press wrote about Kemal Ayg
l as follows: "As a result of a armed fight
which he started with the police he was apprehended dead."

July 28, 1993: Ferhat Tepe was kidnapped and murdered.

Ferhat Tepe, who was kidnapped in the centre of Bitlis on July 27, 1993, was
a correspondent for "zg
r G
ndem". He was kidnapped by the contra-guerrilla
and his body was found a short time later in lake Hazar in Sivrice district,
Elazig, drowned. His passport was removed. After two days in the health-
clinic of the district, his body was brought to the state hospital in Elazig
and there he was buried in an unmarked grave by the city. His father, Ishak
Tepe, DEP-chairman in Bitlis, received a phone-call and travelled to Elazig
to identify the body. Ferhat was heavily tortured by his kidnappers, he was
murdered by them and after the left his body behind in a corner, they
telephoned his father, as if to show their indifference.

August 13, 1993: The Perpa Massacre.

In the workingcentre of Perpa, Istanbul, Sabri Satilmis, Selma Citlak, Nebi
Aky
rek, Mehmet Salgin and Hakan Kasa were murdered on August 13, 1993. The
police did not find out their names until the following day when they
released their bodies.
After the bloodbath zg
r-Der (Association for Rights and Freedom) said in a
statement: "We believe that much is made clear by the fact that the lawyers
were not allowed to the preliminary post-mortem inquiry, despite the wishes
of the families. As we have seen on the spot, the police riddled the
cafeteria with bullets from heavy weapons. We have learned from the press
that a number of retail traders, who want to stay anonymous, knew some of the
murdered people. As far as known, the police killed at least two persons,
Selma Citlak and Sabri Satilnis, later on because they didn't want to leave
any witnesses. They were apprehended alive. Some retailers, who don't want to
give their names, state that they were kept alive. The position of Selma
Citlak gives important clues, it shows that she was shot from above,
downwards. The bullet which entered the window from the top is clear evidence
that Selma Citlak, who was already on the floor, was murdered." 
On August 22, a delegation of the Contemporary Barrister's Association and
the Human Rights Association, which conducted an inquiry into the Perpa
massacre on the spot, published a statement for the press: "1. Most bullets
were shot from the outside, into the building. This is a clear sign that
there was no firefight with the police. 2. There are great inconsistencies in
regard with the inspection of the policeweapons which were used and the
weapons which were supposedly used by the murdered people. The weapons which
allegedly belonged to the deceased were not even useable. For that matter,
because all the shots at the deceased were given in random-fire, there can be
no talk of self-defence. 3. According to the recordings of SHOW TV and ATV,
sound-records and eye-witness accounts, there were no summons to
"Surrender!". 4. It all happened in a cafeteria. Orders were delivered
outside. All the deceased worked in the afternoon. Although the security
forces did have the opportunity to go into the shop as costumers and to ask
for service outside, the police did not conduct in this manner." 
It is evident that what happened in Perpa was an execution. In November,
1993, the trial was opened. On February 14, 1994, the second courtsession
took place against the policemen who murdered Mehmet Salgin, Hakan Kasa, Nebi
Aky
rek, Selma Citlak and Sabri Satilmis on August 13, 1993, in Perpa. The
trial was held before the 7th Chamber for Heavy Crimes in Istanbul. The
police, who took heavy security precautions in the surroundings, terrorised
the families and the lawyers who took part in the trial. Ilhami Yelekci, the
permanent police-lawyer in execution-cases, demanded that the press be
excluded from the trial. For security-reasons he demanded that the names and
pictures of his clients could not be published in the press. This was
dismissed by the court. When the families were heard by the court, Mehmet
Salgin's father damned the murderers of his son as "bloodsucking dogs". When
the court threatened to throw him out of the building, the furious father
shouted at the judges: "You too are dogs, you protect them." When the other
families reacted as well, the case was adjourned. After the interval, Ilhami
Yelekci handed over a forged bulletin of Devrimci Sol to the court and
declared that Devrimci Sol had issued death warrants against the accused
officers, so publication of their pictures would endanger their lives. Based
on the forged bulletin the court committee ordered a news-blockade for the
press. Intervention by the prosecution could not change that.
The court adjourned the trial to March 23, 1995, reasoning that the other
accused officers had to be heard and some documents were to be completed. The
accused officers are: mer Kaplan, Ayhan Taskin, Ayhan zkan, H
seyin Dogrul,
Selim Kostik, Kadir Ucar, Erc
ment Yilmaz, Harun Erdogan and Ali Cetkin.
Erdogan Sakar, who was arrested at the massacre, was enclosed on the list of
disappeared people. There has been no sign of Erdogan Sakar since.

August 21, 1993: Baki Erdogan was tortured and murdered.

On August 10, 1993, Baki Erdogan was arrested by plain-clothes policemen in a
house were he stayed as a guest. He was tortured for eleven days. On August
21, he died in the state-hospital in Aydin were he was brought for treating
his wounds. 
The testimonies from the people he was arrested with, leave no doubts:
"Baki's head was covered with blood", "His arms just hang and he constantly
stared at one point", "He was kept naked in the police-station. His body
showed signs of beatings and open wounds", "The blanket he used was covered
with blood." 
After the murder the Judicial Medical Institute established as cause of
death: "oedema, resulting from under-nourishment". The post-mortem inquiry,
however, stated as cause of death: "suffocation". The progressive public
protested and the inquiry-report, made by the prosecutor and the physicians,
was send to the Judicial Medical Institute in Istanbul. The institute did not
change the "cause of death". They wrote their report without seeing the body.
Baki Erdogan's lawyers, Mehmet Yeter and H
lya cpinar gave a press
conference and stated that the judicial medical report was not truthful.
"Under-nourishment" was medically impossible as cause of death for a healthy
man, according to the lawyers, and they emphasised that the oedema of the
lungs did not result from under-nourishment, but from torture, electroshocks
and beatings. 
The lawyers pointed out that this was a case of deliberate deception and
said: "The state prosecutor and the physicians who prepared the post-mortem
report did give us deceiving indications and thus they tried to obscure the
events. They also deceived the Judicial Medical Institute by sending faulty
indications. The judicial medical report was based on this protocol. Besides,
they didn't even see the body." The lawyers, Mehmet Yeter and H
lya cpinar,
declared that the state prosecutors, H
seyn Eken and Cafer Kasaoglu, who
conducted the inquiry tried to protect the torturers and the demanded a new
examination of the report. The assertions of the lawyers were examined and
the report was considered dubious, thereupon a commission was formed to write
a new report.

COPERATION BETWEEN HOSPITALS AND THE POLICE.

A medical official, who whished to remain anonymous, told the Turkish 
Association of Physicians (TTB) about the events. The physicians T
rkcan
Baycal and Haluk Aydin from the TTB had to appear before the security
authorities after the investigation by the TTB's Central Council became
known.
This shows the open coperation between the state-hospital and the hospital.
When Baki Erdogan was brought to the hospital on August 20 at 24.00 hrs.,
unable to breath, the nurse put on a serum flask. When his condition did not
improve, the police-chiefs talked to the leading physician and achieved that
Baki Erdogan was not treated stationary in the hospital. The physician Alkan
Pehlivanli, who was on night-duty, put Baki in the special room for
prisoners. Baki Erdogan was not booked in the hospital register because it
was obvious to the personal that he was going to die as a result from the
torture he had been subjected to. Although the signs of torture were even
visible on video recordings and pictures, Feyyaz Piskins
t (a specialist on
night-duty on August 21.), wrote in his report: "...There is no pathological
evidence that indicates torture." This attitude can not be in accordance with
their Hypocritical Oath, nor with human dignity.

POLICE-OFFICERS FLEE BEFORE TRIAL!

The trial against the officers who were responsible for Baki Erdogan's death
was assigned to a higher court. The Criminal Court in Aydin declared itself
unauthorised on March 2, 1994, and assigned the trial to the higher court.
The accused officers did not show up, they claimed to be "on public duty".
According to Ali Asker Alkan, one of Baki's lawyers, the accused did not come
although they were summoned, and they probably wouldn't show up in future
sessions. He added: So we come in vain, we demand the arrest of the accused."

STATE PROSECUTORS HIDE FACTS FOR LAWYERS!

Mehmet Yeter, a lawyer, and Baki's father gave a press-conference on August
25. They said: "Both state prosecutor H
seyin Eken, who conducts the inquiry,
and the chief physician of the state hospital in Aydin told us that Baki's
body did not show any other marks than those of handcuffs." State prosecutor
H
seyin Eken did not hand over the inquiry report to the lawyers, Mehmet
Yeter and H
lya cpinar, claiming that it first had to send to the Judicial
Medical Institute. When the lawyers repeated their request on September 10,
which was refused verbally on August 31, they discovered that the report
never had been send to the Judicial Medical Institute in Istanbul. State
prosecutor Hafer Kasaogly responded to the lawyers, who pointed out that the
law requires a copy being handed over to them: "Go and complain to whom you
ever want to, I'm not going to give you any information or copies."

TTB CONCLUDES INVESTIGATION: TORTURE WAS CAUSE OF DEATH.

The TTB's Central Council stated: "Based upon both the reports from the
physicians who examined Erdogan before he died and the post-mortem results,
the marks on Erdogan's body were caused by electroshocks, the marks on his
shoulders and joints were caused by torture through hanging (way and duration
established), the marks on the foot-soles were caused by batons, and the
marks on the toes were caused by cuts and breaking of the bones. We are
convinced that both the reports concur. (...) Based on these knowledge, we
have serious doubts regarding the possibility that his death could have been
caused without torture." The investigation by the TTB and the lawyers show
that Baki Erdogan died as a result from torture. The murder of Baki Erdogan
by torture was also made known to Amnesty International and was even
discussed by the European Council.

October 26, 1993: Two people murdered in Balgat/Ankara.

During a police operation on October 26, 1993, in the 14. Street in the
district of Cevizlidere, Yasar Ylmaz and Tayyar Turhan Sayar were murdered.
The operation was intended on murder. The police didn't even consider their
arrest. This is clearly shown by the state of the house the revolutionaries
were in. 
The correspondent from M
cadele describes his observations as follows: "When
we entered the house, the scent of gunpowder and bombs bit in our noses. We
all tried to protect ourselves against the scent by holding our nose.
Although it all happened so many hours ago, the house was still so filled
with the scent of gunpowder and bombs. This clearly shows the enormous amount
of ammunition which was used by the police for this bloody murder. The house
was a ruin."
Also the eviction of the upper floors by the house-owner Makbule Sirin, a
short while before the start of the operation, gave from the beginning a clue
for the strength of the attack which was to be expected. 
Also the statement from Rahsan Eren, who was arrested after the operation,
give a clear picture of the massacre. "He said: When we entered the house,
both were still alive. We could have taken them alive, but the orders came
from the top." Rahsan Eren, who was forced to betrayal by torture and
repression, told the public what she lived through by giving a press-
conference in the Association for Human Rights on October 31, 1993.

November 26, 1993: Massacre in Hasky.

The house that was raided by the police on November 26, 1993, did not belong
to an organisation, it was already occupied by a family for ten years. The
execution was carried out openly and careless. 
Before the operation the residents of B
kl
m Street in the district of
Ciksalin were forced into their houses. The street was blocked and Erol
Yalcin and Selma Dogan, who were inside the third floor of the Sivri-
appartment, were surrounded by hundreds of policemen and officers of the
special units. 
They were killed by their bullets. Because of the fact that the house did not
belong to the organisation, the police could not seal the house and they did
not have time enough to get rid of the evidence. The door was riddled with
bullets. In Erol Yalkin's room the wall was completely covered with bullet-
holes, the room was riddled with machine-gun volleys. In the room where Selma
Dogan was executed, on the contrary, there was only one bullet found which
had hit the telephone. Selma was shot, point blank, behind the sofa were she
hid.
The deputy secretary from the Contemporary Association of Barristers in
Istanbul published the results from post-mortem inquiry which became known on
November 29. They show the massacre: "Three shots were fired at Selma Dogan.
One bullet entered the left cheek, one the lower lip from the left, and the
third one entered the skull. Erol Yalcin's body was riddled with bullets; two
bullets in the skull, two bullets in the right arm and the leg, on in the
left hip, one in the chest, two in the abdomen and the ribs, two in the left
and right shoulder, and one in the neck, in all 11 bullets. Furthermore, it
was established that three bullets passed through the body. As is made clear
by the post-mortem inquiry, the only aim was to murder." 
Selma Dogan was the daughter of a family who has lived in the same house for
ten years. That she was killed in her own house, only 18 years old, shows
that thepolicy of executions has no limits. Erol Yalcin did not live in that
house. Selma Dogan's mother confirmed that Erol only came by occasionally.
Sabiha Dogan, Elma's mother, about the day of the execution: "On the evening
of the execution I came home from work. It looked as if all the policemen
from Istanbul were there. Something like this, I could never have imagined.
When I approached the house, a policeman in civilian clothes came up to me
and said: "Let's go for a walk." I said: "Let me go home." Then they said:
"That's not possible now, there was a fire in your house." They wanted to
keep me away from my house. They arrested my son and my oldest daughter. They
took me to the station too. There they asked stubbornly whether I knew Erol."
Sabiha Dogan also noticed a theft by the execution team during the operation:
"The murderers who killed my daughter inside my house, plundered and robbed
the house, they took two cameras, a bracelet and the jewellery." 
The first trial against the policemen who carried out the execution took
place on April 21, 1994, before the 1st Chamber for Heavy Crimes in Beyoglu.
All the accused officers were there and the court ordered a news-blockade.
The executioners were protected and it was prevented that they became known
to the public. 
Sabiha Dogan, who was accompanied by families from TIYAD and lawyers, was
attacked at the entrance of the court-house and arrested. While this shows
the indifference of the executioners, the examining magistrate from the
public-prosecutors office, wanted to show that he was behind the massacre by
ordering the beating of Sabiha Dogan.

Massacre in Kasimpasa.

Velat Han GLSENOGLU was arrested in March, 1994, and brought to the police
station. There he was shot. The super-intendent from the station claims that
at the time of the event, no officers were present. GLSENOGLU was wounded by
shots in the neck, was brought to the hospital, where he died as a result of
his wounds. An eye-witness reports that GLSENOGLU was brought to the
hospital in the trunk of a car and left there for his fate. It was said that
he was not treated. The lawyers of the Human Rights Association, Eren Keskin,
Filiz K
stal, Ayhan Erkan and Erdal Canakci investigated the case. It was
found that Velat Han GLSENOGLU was first forced to kneel and then shot
through the neck. 

Maksut Polat was executed.

Maksut Polat was murdered on May 17, 1994, in Adana Yesilevler. When he got
out of a mini-bus, he was shot at. Eye-witnesses describe the event: "They
shot him, without warning, from a very short distance, when he got out of the
mini-bus. There was no fight." The commander of this operation, as well as of
many other operations, Ramazan Er, was the former chief-of-police in
Diyarbakir. He is also the chief responsible for the contra-guerrilla
operations in Diyarbakir. When he became chief-of-police in Adana, the number
of "murders by unknown perpetrators" rose especially in the Kurdish parts of
town. The murder of Maksut Polat shows that Ramazan Er and his killertroops
are responsible for these murders.


Massacre in Bagcilar.

On August 4, 1994, a house was surrounded in Istanbul-Bagcilar by Anti-Terror
Units and stormed with heavy weapons. Three revolutionaries, H
seyin Arslan,
G
ner Sar and zlen Kilic were murdered. 
The operation began at approximately 2.20 A.M. and lasted for approximatly
six hours. Handgrenades and heavy weapons were used. 
After the operation, the house looked like a ruin. "The police came at night.
They asked who lived on the top-floor. When they heard the description, they
said: "Yes, that's them." They rang the bell and when the door was not opened
they just when in and started shooting. They did not warn them before," says
the son of the house-owner. A delegation from fellow-workers from different
papers, magazines and human rights organisations wanted to start an
investigation in the house after the operation. However, this was not
allowed.
Post-mortem inquiries revealed that the deceased were first killed by bombs
and later shot. Zeki R
zgar, a lawyer from the People's Lawyers Office, was
present during the post-mortem inquiry. He said that the corpses of the
murdered showed many signs of wounds by shots and bombs, and he stated: "The
physicians established that the wounds by the bombs and the bullets were
inflicted simultaneously. After they threw the bombs, they must have started
shooting immediately."
The board from EGIT-SEN (Education and training Union) stated that the
victims were sentenced and executed outside the framework of the existing
laws.
Several democratic mass-organisations protested against this massacre in
their statements and pointed out that the police uses heavy weapons in these
kind of operations which are normally only used in wars, while the victims
could have been taken alive by means of sedation.
The Human Rights Association in Istanbul stated that this operation was an
act of terror, conducted by the state. The Human Rights Association in Izmir
protested against the bloodbath and stated that they would not call for an
explanation of the case, because the people who were responsible for this
crime were known anyway.

Rifat zg
ngr murdered in Sivas.

The former agent of M
cadele in Sivas, Rifat zg
ngr, was murdered in Hafik,
a suburb of Sivas. The murderers and their collaborators keep silent. They
say that they can't give an explanation as officials from the state. "Your
son's body is in the hospital in Sivas. Come and get him." The family was the
first to hear about zg
ngr's death. On September 16, the family was phoned
by the gendarmerie in Sivas. Without any explanation the family was told
about their son's death. When they went to the hospital to collect their
son's body, they saw that the hospital was surrounded by police. Their
questions about the circumstances of their son's death and why he was brought
to the hospital, remained unanswered. In a report, prepared by the
gendarmerie, it was said that zg
ngr seized a weapon from one of de
gendarmes and committed suicide.
The people who went to collect his body, found a mutilated corps. He was
tortured. The whole front part of his foot was cut off. The wrists showed
signs of handcuffs. Under a rib on the left side was a deep wound and on the
right side of his sexual organs was a shotwound. On the back side of his
head, swellings were visible.


Massacre in Besiktas.

In September 28, 1994, three revolutionaries were executed in a caf in a
neighbourhood of Istanbul, in front of many witnesses.
Physicians pointed out that "The police always come to us with their own
scenarios." The police took their fingerprints immediately after their
execution. 
The physicians who conducted the post-mortem inquiry said about this: "The
bodies come to us with the scenarios, invented by the police. They took the
fingerprints from the victims. Now we can not conduct an inquiry." 
The lawyers from the People's Lawyers Office gave a statement, based on the
post-mortem inquiry report. It says: "It was determined that the victims were
killed in a sitting position. Especially the shots through the head on Fuat
Erdogan, shot from both sides, and the angle of those shots, strengthen this
suspicion. This was an execution on the spot. It is a lie that the victims
were armed." 
An eye-witness from the execution: "It is always said that the police first
give warnings before they start shooting. That's what always said. After each
operation, the police has to be admired! The people are said to have
supported the police by shouting slogans! That's what we've heard many times.
I knew it was a lie, but that day I witnessed the lie myself and I cursed
them. The execution I witnessed went like this: Suddenly I noticed something
was going on in the neighbourhood of the caf. It was like a war had broken
out. I thought the whole policeforce of Istanbul was there. Suddenly hundreds
of policemen and plain clothes officers surrounded the caf. They had pistols
and machine-guns in their hands. The surroundings of the caf were blocked.
Suddenly several officers went inside the caf and started shooting without
any warning. It didn't even last a few minutes. The officers came out again
and the yelled, filled with joy, "We've sent them to hell". After that the
chief-of-police from Istanbul, Necdet Menzir, came to the scene himself. He
came to get the reports from his officials. The policemen were very happy
about their performance. They smoked and made jokes. Four lawyers, two
journalists and a female union activist who protested against the bloodbath,
were arrested.

October 8, 1994: The Sultanciftligi Massacre.

In the night of October 8, 1994, a house was surrounded and stormed by the
police in Sultanciftligi in Istanbul. G
ler Ceylan and Ibis Demir were killed
in this operation. At 9.45 p.m. the police had made their preparations. They
adjusted their radio equipment because they didn't want the press to be there
to soon. Only 3-4 hours later the press and the television heard about the
massacre. Only after the police had changed the scene in the way they wished
to present it, and the state prosecutor had arrived, did they allow the press
enter. About the details of the massacre: "no explanation"

Massacre in Adana.

The police in Adana declared on October 14, 1994, that Leyla Orhan and Asim
Aydemir had been killed in a armed fight with the police. Eye-witnesses,
however, state that the police shot at the two people without any warning.
Leyla Orhan's family said their daughter was not involved in politics and
that the murderers had planted a weapon in her hand after they murdered her.
They should be hold responsible for this.

Mersin: Ahmet zt
rk and Zeynep G
ltekin were murdered.

October 26, 1994: Anti-Terror Units stormed a house in Mersin. Two
revolutionaries were killed and one revolutionary was wounded. At
approximatly 4.30 p.m, the former agent of the paper M
cadele, Ahmet zt
rk,
phoned the headoffice of this paper in Istanbul. He said that his house was
surrounded by the police. zt
rk gave the address of his house and wanted to
have the lawyers in Adana and Mersin notified. The democratic mass
organisations and the press organs were immediately informed. After a few
hours it was known that Ahmet zt
rk and Zeynep G
ltekin had been murdered.
Sevgi Erdogan was brought to hospital, wounded. The siege continued for
several hours and therefore one could not get further information about the
execution. Sevgi Erdogan and Ahmet zt
rk had been threatened with murder by
the police several times. Sevgi Erdogan's husband was executed by the police
on July 12, 1991.

Faik Candan was murdered.

The lawyer Faik Candan left his office in Ankara Sihhiye on January 2, 1994.
Nobody heard from him again until his body was found on January 14 in Bala, a
suburb of Istanbul.
Candan was chairman of de DEP (Democratic Party) in Ankara for a while. When
he disappeared a lot of efforts were taken to get information about his
whereabouts. The Barrister's Chamber in Ankara called upon the minister of
the Interior and the minister of Justice to take action in the Candan's case.
The questions and summons remained unanswered. The chief-of-police, who first
denied that Candan had been arrested, later made remarks about his fate. "Of
course, there has to be a punishment for him working in an illegal
organisation." 
Because of the pressure from friends and acquaintances of Candan, one member
of parliament looked into the case. The answer from the chief-of-police to
the parliamentarians questions: "Do not look for this man. Why are you
looking for him? He is a dangerous person. He has contacts with a terrorist
organisation." These words reveal the murderers. On January 16, the
Contemporary Barristers Association came with a statement. They protested
against the murder of Candan. "Our lives are in danger ..."

In Diyarbakir four students from TDEF (the Federation of Student
Associations in Turkey) were murdered.

In Diyarbakir four students were murdered by state security forces on
February 12, 1994. The People's Lawyers Office investigated this case and
prepared a report. 
According to this report it was clear that the development of events and the
eye-witnesses accounts indicate an execution. According to the official
explanation a house in Diyarbakir was stormed which was inhabited by members
from a banned organisation. The police was said to have summoned the people
inside to surrender. Because they did not do so, it came to an armed
conflict. However, fact is that the murdered studied in Diyarbakir already
for four years. The houses and the student-appartments, occupied by the
students, were known to the police. The police had no intention to take them
alive. On the contrary: from the outset they intended to murder them. At
around 3 p.m., Reyhan and his girlfriend Nuray came from an exam. Nuray was
arrested, Reyhan was not. She was executed by the police on the same evening.
The house was not a hidden base of support of a illegal organisation, as was
claimed by the police. The house was inhabited by Reyhan and Nuray. H
seyin
and Selim lived in a student-appartment, Refik in an housing estate. Metin
Narin from the People's Lawyers Office declared about this: "They established
more than one hundred bullets in Selim's and Refik's bodies. This alone is
proof that this was an execution. The bodies were not thoroughly examined
during the post-mortem inquiry, it was just a formal inquiry. In these cases,
the inquiry is extremely important to find out the truth. In this case there
was no inquiry and the proof finding was hindered. The state prosecutor
himself has prevented the post-mortem inquiry."

Aysenur Simsek was arrested and murdered under torture.

On January 24, 1995, Aysenur Simsek was kidnapped by the police. Her family
and her lawyers went to the chiefs of police in Ankara and Amasya to get some
information about the whereabouts of Simsek. They all answered: "She is not
registered here as arrested." Aysenur Simsek was sought by the police.
Shortly before her disappearance her family was phoned by the police. A
super-intendent told them: "Your daughter is active in the organisation, we
know that. She works in the Topkat area. You have contact, bring her to us or
something bad will happen to her." 
Aysenur Simsek studied pharmaceutics in Ankara. After her study, she was an
active unionist. She founded SAGLIK-SEN (health care union) in Ankara.
Because of her activities she was arrested twice and tortured. The People's
Lawyers Office did their best to find out her whereabouts. Yasar T
rk, the
chief state prosecutor of the State Security Court told the lawyers: "When
you do not have a full power of attorney, I can not give you any
information." On April 12, the family was informed about the place where
Aysenur Simsek was buried. The post-mortem inquiry showed that she was killed
on January 29, 1995, by three bullets, shot from a close range. One bullet
hit her head, one a knee, and one hit her chest. Aysenur Simsek was
kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the police.

The Gazi Massacre.

On March 12, 1995, Gazi Mahalle Istanbul went through a massacre. Three cafs
and a candy bakery were shot from a passing car. A 61 year old man died and
many people were wounded. Although the police station was only a few hundred
meters away, it took the police 20 minutes to arrive at the scene. The
responsible officers claim that no one was at the station at the time because
the police men were at a football-game, taking care of security. This shows
that this bloodbath was state policy. The state does not care to capture the
murderers, on the contrary, they want to protect them. 
Gazi is slum area in Istanbul. Democratic and revolutionary ideas have a long
tradition in this neighbourhood. The population is largely from the Alevite
creed of Islam. The people, as in all the other slums, are in opposition to
the government. This district was especially selected for the massacre. They
wanted to terrorise and oppress the population. The people answered with a
rebellion. The uprising started in the night of the attack and lasted for
three days. 
For the first time in Turkey's history the partition between the people and
the state was this clear. The population demanded the murderers. With the
knowledge that the murderers are protected by the state, thousands of people
marched to the police station. In the night of March 12, the people were
fired upon by an armoured car. Mehmet G
nd
z died as a result of head
injuries. The police wanted to make clear to the people: When you resist, you
will be killed! The balance of the first day: One dead and several wounded. A
eye-witness recalls: "The search-lights of the armoured cars were directed at
us, suddenly they started shooting at us. Mehmet G
nd
z fell on a sand-bag.
He was bleeding from a head wound." 
On March 13, a curfew was declared in Gazi. In spite of this curfew, the
hundreds of policemen and the 5.000 soldiers who attacked, more and more
people joined the resistance. Around 3 p.m. the police opened fire on the
crowd and started using tanks and the military. State violence took extreme
action against the population. 26 people were murdered by fire-arms. More
than 300 people were wounded. Even the transportation of the wounded was
hindered. On March 14, many democratic groups and organisations called for a
demonstration in Ankara. At noon 5.000 people gathered for the demonstration.
The barricades, built by the police in front of the parliament building, were
overrun by the people. Three people were murdered and countless people were
wounded. On March 15, 20.000 people took part in the funeral of the victims
from the past days. Again 7 people got wounded by police bullets. In the
district of Bir Mayis 4 people were murdered by police fire-arms. The police
fired directly on the people. The wounded were trampled down by the officers,
tortured and even executed. Sezgin Engin, Zeynep Poyraz, Mehmet G
nd
z, Veis
Kopal, Dilek Sevinc, Fadime Bingl, Ali Yildirin, M
mtaz Kaya, Fvzi Tunc,
Dincer Yilmaz, Hasan Sel, Ismihan Y
ksel, Ismail Baltaci, Genco Demir and Ali
Cabuk were murdered by police bullets.

After several months there were "charges" against the police officers Adem
Albayrak, Metin G
ndogan, Hamdi zata, Hasan Yavuz, Isa Bostan, S
leyman
Memisci, Sedat zenir, Hayrullah Sisman, Ali Dogan, Metin Cakmaz, Yakup
Murat, Ibrahim Serdar, Orhan Dervis, Mehmet T
rk, Mustafa Keles, Ugur Duran,
Selcuk Bicer, Ali Ulukus, Ahmet T
rkmen, and Yetkin Korkut. They were not
even arrested. As in all other executions-trials, these officers were
acquitted.

Hasan Ocak was kidnapped and murdered.

On March 21, Hasan Ocak was arrested in Istanbul by officers from the Anti-
Terror Department. Nevertheless, they denied his arrest. 
His family and the democratic mass organisations demanded an official
explanation from the government. The authorities stated they would take care
of the matter. The government tried to prevent the efforts by the family and
arrested Hasan's mother, Emine Ocak. The minister of the Interior, Nahit
Mentese, delivered a statement in the daily "Cumhuriyet", where he said that
Hasan Ocak was arrested on March 21. However, he was taken out of his sphere
of influence, according to the minister. By doing so, the authorities who
claimed until then that they didn't have a clue about Ocak's whereabouts,
were portrayed as a bunch of liars. 
His brother and people who were next to Hasan Ocak moved everything to get
information about the kidnapping of Hasan. They went to ministers, for
example to: Kamer Genc, Sinan Yerlikaya, to the former minister for Human
Rights, Azimet Kyl
oglu, the present minister for Human Rights, Algan
Hacaloglu, and to many members of parliament. The minister for Human Rights
phoned to the Anti-Terror Department on April 3, and asked for Hasan Ocak and
Hasan Polat. They answered that neither was arrested. This was published in
the press and accepted on the same evening.

Later H
seyin Ocak, Hasan's brother, explained: "The minister and the members
of parliament which we approached said they couldn't do anything. Kamer Genc
said she addressed the governor and the chief of police and they answered he
wasn't there. They were also forced to believe this. Hikmet Cetin said it was
in his responsibility, but he couldn't prevent it. Hasan Ocak was arrested on
March 21 during the Newroz-festivities in Aksaray Yenikapi. The police denied
his arrest. There are witnesses he saw him at the police station in Vatan
Street. A prisoner in the Bayrampasa Prison gave written testimony to the
State Security Court: "On March 23, 1995, I saw Hasan Ocak in the police
station in Istanbul. He just came back from interrogation. He was in bad
condition when they brought him." 

The eye-witness, Bilgi Camekan, who was in prison, saw Hasan's name on a list
when they were taking his fingerprints. He was willing to give testimony, but
this was not allowed. 
In spite of all the efforts, the eye-witnesses and the evidence, it was
denied that Hasan Ocak was arrested. Hasan Ocak was strangled after five days
on March 26, 1995. His body was found in Beykoz, near Bozhane Ky
. H
sein
Ocak established that the people who discovered Hasan's body warned the state
prosecution and the gendarmes. But the state prosecutor tried to hide the
whole case for the public and wanted a quick post-mortem inquiry. The body
was kept for 28 days in the morgue. Then the body was buried in a grave for
unknown people and the cemetery in K
c
kcekmece Altinsehir. H
seyin Ocak
identified his brother on pictures which were taken in the morgue.

The arrest of Hasan Ocak, who was tortured and killed, is denied by the
government. Hasan's fingerprints, in their possession, and the fact that they
hid his body for one and a half month proof that the state was involved in
this murder.

Massacre in Antep.

On April 4, 1995, at noon, Demet Taner was murdered by the police and the
special units in the garden of Muzaffer Hafiz Street no. 6, house no. 3 in
the district of Inn
. At 10 p.m., the same day, H
seyin Coskun was murdered
at the Buryolu crossing.

The police claim one person was shot when he was hanging a banner on a
construction site where it came to an armed confrontation. But on the spot
where the execution took place, there was neither a construction site, nor a
banner. Five people from the Platform for Rights and Freedom in Istanbul and
Adana went to Antep on April 7. Later, people from the Association Freedom
and Human Rights/Antep, representatives from HADEP/Antep, revolutionary
democratic workers, civil servants and students joined the delegation. After
examining the house and hearing witnesses, the delegation stated: "Demet
Taner was wounded on the street at 10 a.m. when she wanted to empty her dust-
bin and she was then murdered in her garden. Several bullet-holes were found
on the spot and where Demet Taner was killed the garden-hose was teared up on
5-6 places. On the walls of the houses, several bullet-holes and blood-
spatters were found. During the investigation of the case from H
eyin Coskun
we found that there was no construction site on the spot. There is absolutely
nothing, except for a abandoned house. Besides from the fact that there
couldn't have been an armed confrontation from there, it was impossible to
hang a banner there."

According to other sources, H
seyin Coskun was arrested in the morning and
murdered in an other part of town. Everything was staged to look like an
armed confrontation! The differing statements from the police and the state
of the claimed place of events, confirm our statement.

The state prosecutor of Gaziantep, D. Ali Dursun, assigned the case against
the murderers, Ibrahim G
resci, Vakkas G
l, nal Nacar, Savas zbek, H
seyin
Dnmez and Necit Yur to the State Security Court. His motivation: this trial
was beyond his competency. The state prosecutor of the State Security Court
also protected the killers. It took him only one day to decide about the
case.

Massacre in Batikent, Ankara.

April 12, 1995. Ankara Batikent Kardelen Mah. Haritacilar Sitesi, block 13,
house no. 10. 9 o'clock p.m. Mustafa Selcuk, Sirin Erol and Seyhan Ayyildiz
are executed. As always, the responsible authorities said: "Summons by the
police were answered with fire. The militants were caught dead." The
delegation from the Platform for Rights and Freedom concluded: "The
responsible official said there was an armed confrontation during this
operation and the operation was described as a big success. That's how they
try to justify the bloodbath. When there was a confrontation, then this would
serve as a justification for the massacres which are supported by the state.
At the investigation of the house it was established that there wasn't a
confrontation at all... The evidence shows that Mustafa Selcuk, Sirin Erol,
and Seyhan Ayyildiz were executed while they were lying on the floor. Sixty-
four bullet-wounds were found in the bodies of the murdered revolutionaries.
That shows that the house was stormed on purpose to kill the revolutionaries.

In the house there is no indication of a confrontation. All the windows were
unbroken, the furniture was whole and stood on his place. There were only the
bullet-holes from the police who fired at the house to suggest a
confrontation.

The press-statement from the democratic mass organisations in Batikent says:
"The fight didn't last for one hour as was stated in the press. This
operation, conducted by the police, only lasted for five minutes and was from
the outset intended on murder. This is a major disgrace. It's a disgrace for
humanity!" The press-statement was a joined statement from the Teacher's
Association in Batikent, the Artist's Association in Batikent, the
Association of Journalists in Batikent, the Pir Sultan Abdal Association and
the Theatre Club from Batikent.

After the massacres, the inquiry was assigned to the prosecutor of the State
Security Court, Nuh Mete Y
ksel. Zeynep Firat, Mustafa Selcuk's lawyer,
demanded on April 15 that the prosecutor would be withdrawn from the case. In
her request she wrote: "In former trials of this sort, conducted by Nuh Mete
Y
ksel, there were no charges and the policemen were all acquitted. We have
no trust in him. Birtan Altunbas, for instance, was murdered under torture.
Nuh Mete Y
ksel was the responsible state attorney in this case. He did not
even hand over the post-mortem inquiry report to the family. When we started
working on that, he did not give any attention to our request. Furthermore,
in the cases of the massacres in K
c
kesat and Maltepe (Ankara) he refused to
hand over the bodies of the revolutionaries to the families and our demand
for the post-mortem inquiry reports were again dismissed. Therefore we
believe that he is not capable of investigating this case in an objective
manner. Besides. this case is not in his domain. We demand that he is
withdrawn from this case. The Constitution, the laws and international
treaties contain clear guidelines in these cases."