ANKARA - Although 2 years have passed since the racist attack in which 7 members of the Dedeoğulları family were killed, the background of the incident has not been clarified. Çetin Dedeoğulları said: "Only one person is under arrest. Even if there was no camera, they would have tried him pending trial."

 

It has been 2 years since the racist attack on the Dedeoğulları family, in which 7 people were killed in the Meram district of Konya. Keleş and Çalık families carried out the first attack on Dedeoğulları on May 12, 2021, and 7 people, including 4 women, were injured in the attack. During the attack, the attackers made threats such as "We are nationalists, we will not keep you alive". 7 of the attackers were arrested. However, they were all evacuated within 2 months. The second attack on Dedeoğulları took place on July 30, 18 days after the release decision. In the second attack, 7 members of the Dedeoğulları family were killed.

 

 Çetin Dedeoğulları 

 

THE MASSACRE REFLECTED IN THE IMAGES

 

The moments of the second attack were reflected on the camera that the Dedeoğulları family had installed outside their house after the first attack. The camera footage revealed that the attacker was Mehmet Altun. It was also reflected in the footage that shooter Altun fired again at his family members, whom he noticed were injured before leaving the house, and tried to set fire to the house. Also, it was noticed by the cameras that different vehicles were in front of the house before and after Altun came home. However, no research has been conducted on the detection of these vehicles.

 

During the deposition and trial process, the accused Altun claimed that he did the incident alone. Although Altun was not working, it was revealed that he stayed in luxury hotels before the massacre, rented a car, and gave financial aid to his family after the incident. These raised questions about whether the accused Altun was financed; however, even after 2 years, these questions are still waiting to be answered.

 

RELATIONSHIP WITH POLICIES

 

During the trial, it was revealed that the accused Altun had a 45-minute interview 3 days before he surrendered to the police. The words of the killer, “I will shoot five more people and surrender like that” were reflected in this meeting. Right after, Altun said: "The police are lying, I was not caught. The words "I surrender myself" were revealed in prison phone calls. During the interviews in prison, Altun revealed that he had said: "The police helped me with my statement", "The police were holding their own to hug me" and "The police said that most of these people deserved to die". During the meeting with his uncle in prison, Altun said: “The police said it after they took my statement. They said that you have very precious uncles. They even said that we had to force ourselves not to hug them."

 

At the decision hearing held at the Konya 4th High Criminal Court on November 21, 2022, the accused Altun was given aggravated life imprisonment; however, many issues, especially Altun's relationship with the police, were not clarified.

 

GUARD IS ALLOCATED TO ATTACKERS

 

Çetin Dedeoğulları, the only survivor of the attack, evaluated what happened before and after the incident. Stating that they demanded guard many times after the first attack, but these demands were not met, Dedeoğulları said: "The massacre took place blindly. In the incident (first attack), the family was severely abused. My sister and brother stayed in intensive care for a while. After the first beating, my brother video-call me on the phone and he was covered in blood. Those who attacked the house told my father, 'We are nationalists, we will not let them live here'. I was out of town. After the incident, the attackers were given protection, but even though we demanded, guards were not given to us."

 

'BECAUSE WE ARE KURDISH...'

 

Stating that after the incident, many officials told him that "you will cause a popular uprising" and that there was a great injustice against the Kurds. Dedeoğulları said: “The massacre perpetrated against us today is entirely due to the fact that we are Kurds. The behavior and words of those in power affect the society and such massacres take place against the Kurds. The policy of the state creates itself through this racism. If we were not Kurds, they would not have committed such a massacre against us. If this massacre had been committed not on a Kurdish family, but on a Turkish family, everyone who had a hand in this business would have been arrested today. Many times, those working in the authorized institutions of the state said: 'it is racism, but you still do not mention it'. Many of the MPs of the ruling party said that 'you will cause a popular uprising'.

 

Emphasizing that he will not refrain from following the legal process so that the defendants receive the punishment they deserve, Dedeoğulları continued: "The more concrete lunatics emerge, the more they impose on the policy of impunity. I am the only survivor in the family. I will follow this case until the end so that justice is served. I will not give up the legal fight. If necessary, I will take it to the European Court of Human Rights (AHİM)."

 

MA / Hakan Yalçın