MÛŞ - Mûş Bar Association President Kadir Karaçelik, one of the lawyers of the Vartinis Case, which is at risk of being subject to prescription, called for "Vartinis massacre is within the scope of crimes against humanity, the case should be embraced."

 

In the house of the Öğüt family, which was set on fire on October 3, 1993, in the Vartinis (Altınova) town of Têlî (Korkut) district of Mûş, father Nasır Öğüt, his wife Eşref Öğüt and their children Sevim, Sevda, Mehmet Şakir, Mehmet Şirin, Aycan, Cihan and Cinal from the same family were murdered. Bülent Karaoğlu, the only defendant on trial in the case, has still not been caught, although he is wanted with a red notice. The 19th hearing of the incident, where the trial process continues, will be held at Kırıkkale 1st High Criminal Court on September 27. Kadir Karaçelik, President of the Muş Bar Association, who is following the case, evaluated the prescription risk of the case on October 3.

 

INTERNATIONAL DECISIONS

 

Stating that the 30-year struggle for justice in the Vartinis Case will end on October 3, Karaçelik said: “We have concerns about this issue, but we have very strong legal arguments. We have repeatedly stated that the prescription is not a problem in this case and that the prescription should not be applied, and we will continue to do so. There are international decisions, comments and legal evaluations that determine the prescription on issues such as torture and the right to life."

 

'THE CASE IS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY'

 

Reminding that the concept of crime against humanity entered Turkish law in 2005, Karaçelik said: "We would not accept the interpretation that 'There was no such provision, this provision against the defendants cannot be evaluated.' International decisions state that the statute of limitations should not apply to crimes against humanity. If we are a part of international law, we should not be able to ignore the law of nations. However, such unfortunate decisions were made in similar cases that were a part of the darkness of the 90s. We are very clear on this issue, in legal terms, about fundamental rights and freedoms, the Vartinis Case is within the scope of a crime against humanity. There is no room for doubt about this. The scope of the crime against humanity is clear. Can it be thought that there was a special enmity between the people and children burned in the Vartinis massacre and those who burned them? Therefore, it bears all the characteristics of a crime against humanity. We also expect this from the court, do not get into such legal weirdness." 

 

'THE PRESCRIPTION CANNOT BE APPLIED'

 

Stating that the doubts about the case are behind us, Karaçelik said:  "To date, we have passed the point of 'I wonder if they did it, is there a lack of evidence?' Even though we said the defendant would escape, they did nothing. As if it was a very simple crime, the perpetrator was not even called to court, an instruction letter was sent to Istanbul. Instructions were written, even the decision to bring them by force was not made. This defendant sent a report to the first hearing, this report was here since it was received from a hospital in Turkey, and then he left looking into our eyes. At this stage, we expect this: the Vartinis massacre is within the scope of crimes against humanity, the prescription cannot be applied. There are decisions on this subject that the ECtHR discusses in detail; It means that even if it is not regulated in domestic law, the trial process should continue."

 

'THE TRUTH MUST BE REVEALED'

 

Noting that the court will decide on the prescription after October 3, Karaçelik underlined that the truth must be revealed. Calling for public awareness, Karaçelik emphasized that the case should be embraced.

 

MA / Berivan Kutlu