It has been 10 years since the suicide bombing attack (20 July 2015) against socialist youth who gathered in Pirsûs (Suruç) district of Riha (Urfa) to take toys for children and to participate in the construction in Kobanê city of North and East Syria where ISIS was defeated. One of those killed in the attack was Uğur Özkan, who was born on 28 February 1989 in Cizîr (Cizre) district of Şirnex (Şırnak) province. 

 

When he was born, his family was influenced by the song "Hogir" in an album by the singer Xelîl Xemgîn and decided to name him "Hogir", but the Population Directorate refused on the grounds that it was "dangerous". However, even though Uğur was written as Uğur on his identity card, he remained the "Hogir" of the family. 

 

Özkan, who grew up in a family of seven children, migrated to Istanbul with his family in 1993. After attending primary, secondary and high school in Istanbul, Özkan enrolled in the Department of Logistics at Mersin University. However, Özkan was denied his right to study by the university administration due to his political activities and took part in the Gezi protests. 

 

Özkan returned to Istanbul from Mersin after this process and travelled to Kobanê before the attack and witnessed the atrocities of ISIS first-hand. Özkan, who went to Kobanê for the second time to bring toys to children and to work in the electrical works of the new construction, was murdered in the attack of ISIS. Özkan was buried in a ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people in Cizîr, where he was born but did not grow up. Mehmet Özkan, who only said "goodbye" after his son, took his place in the Suruç Families Initiative established by the families of those who lost their lives in the attack. In the intervening 10 years, Özkan renewed his demand for justice by attending every hearing held in Riha.

 

HE TALKED ABOUT HIS SON

 

Recalling that thousands of young people tore down the barbed wire and headed for Kobanê during the ISIS attacks, Özkan said: “Hogir was one of those young people. He saw the atrocities that took place there. He knew what the children needed. Then he came back and started preparing to go again. He was good at electrical work. He didn't tell us he was leaving. However, he asked his mother for holiday sweets to distribute to his friends. He put many pairs of socks in his bag. We knew he was going somewhere, but we didn't ask where. He didn't want money, but I gave him some anyway. I learned he had left from his younger brother. I called him while he was on the road, but he sent a message saying, ‘I'm on the road, I'll text you when my battery runs low.’ I learned about the attack when my daughter called me. Then I watched it on TV and we made preparations to leave. However, we couldn't find a vehicle or tickets. His friends called from Mersin and said, ‘Hogir is alive but injured.’ When the explosion happened, I called his phone, but it was off. However, when I called again later, it was on. I felt a little hopeful when it was on. At seven o'clock in the evening, I managed to find a plane ticket to Amed. My brother left for Cizîr before me. They had learned that the body had been taken to the morgue in Antep. We arrived in Antep that night. I was fasting that day. I couldn't eat that evening or the next day. We took the body from the morgue and buried it in Cizîr." 

 

CONFIDENTIALITY IN THE CASE LASTED 11 MONTHS

 

Criticising the former co-chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, for not attending the funeral, Özkan recalled that the confidentiality order on the case file lasted for 11 months. Özkan said: "No one spoke to us for 11 months. After intense efforts, we met with the Chief Prosecutor of Urfa. First, I asked about Abdurrahman Ömer Aslan, who was captured by the public at the massacre site, had his beard shaved by the police, and was found with an ISIS flag in his bag. The prosecutor said, 'I don't know who he is.' A friend with us described him and explained what they saw. Upon this, the prosecutor said, 'He could be a police officer.' When we asked how that could be, he ended the meeting by saying, 'Don't get involved.'" 

 

‘OUR REQUESTS WERE NOT ACCEPTED’

 

Emphasising that almost none of their requests had been accepted during the 10 years of the trial, Özkan said: "We made hundreds of requests, but none of them were accepted. Abdurrahman Ömer Aslan was heard once as a result of our intense demands, and despite all the concrete evidence against him, a decision of non-prosecution was issued. Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said, ‘If I speak, the ground will shake.’ However, he was not heard. One of the fugitive defendants, İlhami Bali, was in a meeting with the MIT at a hotel in Ankara when the Gar attack occurred. To this day, they have not been able to locate him. His wife was brought in and acquitted. They want to cover it up by sentencing Yakup Şahin. Not only were the perpetrators not brought to trial, but they also filed a lawsuit against us for 'insulting the court' because of the defences we made in court." 

 

THE ONLY DEMAND IS JUSTICE

 

Emphasising that the only demand of the families who lost their children in the massacre is justice, father Özkan concluded: "We are not asking for any privileges from anyone. If there is justice, it must include us. Justice is necessary for everyone. If the court cannot provide justice, it should not sit in that seat. I couldn't name my son Hogir. I had to name him Uğur, which is close to it, and I wanted him to change it when he grew up. He even told me several times, ‘I will take you to court and change my name.’ But it didn’t happen, and he lost his life with that name. This has become a joke in my heart. My son is not a murderer; he is a martyr. I hold my head high for him. Turning their faces toward Kobanê was an act of humanity. Let everyone know that we will not give up on seeking justice and truth.”

 

MA / Emrullah Acar