AMED - 14 years have passed since the murder of Ceylan Önkol, whose dismembered body was wrapped in oak tree leaves. While Ceylan's perpetrators were not found, at least 228 children subsequently suffered the same fate.

 

Ceylan Önkol, when she was only 12 years old, was killed by a mortar bullet, reportedly fired from the surrounding police station, while herding animals in the Xanbaz hamlet of the Kanîsipî (Şenlik) rural neighborhood of Amed's Licê district, on September 28, 2009. 14 years have passed since his death, but not a single person has been prosecuted. The perpetrator or perpetrators were not revealed, and many children suffered the same fate as Ceylan in the following period.

 

AT LEAST 228 CHILDREN WERE MURDERED

 

According to the report prepared by the Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed Branch and covering the years 2011-2021; After Ceylan, at least 228 children were murdered. While most of the perpetrators of the murdered children were not tried, those who were tried were either acquitted or received rewards-like punishments. 14-year-old İzzettin Boz, 7-year-old Umut Furkan Akçil, Doğan Teyboğa, Mazlum Akay, Helin Hasret Şen, Muhammet Aydemir, Orhan Aslan, Taha Kılıç, Umut Kozay, Ali Ölmez, Efe Tektekin and Mihraç Miroğlu are some of these children.

 

LAWYER ZEYTUN LISTED THE ILLEGALS

 

Abdullah Zeytun, one of the lawyers of the Önkol family, evaluated the litigation process and the policy of impunity. Stating that the judiciary's attitude of impunity is just one dimension of the state's approach towards the Kurds. A 'permanent search warrant' was issued regarding Önkol's death. The evidence and reports in the file were insufficient to identify the perpetrators' was cited as the reason. However, the crime scene examination was carried out 3 days later and moreover by the village imam. All of the material pieces belonging to the gun that killed her were collected by independent and expert persons. Other judicial procedures, especially the autopsy, were not carried out in accordance with the procedure. These were the first unlawful acts that came to mind. Although we stated from the beginning of the investigation that the investigation procedures were against the law, the perpetrators were not identified and were not tried."

 

THE POLICY OF IMPUNITY

 

Drawing attention to the policy of impunity, Zeytun said: "In parallel with the unresolved Kurdish issue, the direct causes of violence against Kurds are not independent of the judiciary. However, it should not be evaluated as a pure judicial system problem and issue. This view also expresses the political aspect of the problem. The judiciary insists on continuing in a political manner. Practices of impunity cannot be considered separately from the political aspect of the issue."

 

MA / Eylem Akdağ