Saturday Mothers/People came together for the 14th time at Galatasaray Square to demand the fate of their relatives who were disappeared and murdered under custody and for the perpetrators to be tried. Carrying carnations and photographs of their disappeared relatives, the Saturday Mothers' protest was attended by many rights defenders. At this week's protest, a statement was made on August 30th, International Day of the Enforced Disappeared. 

 

Fatma Aslan, the sister of Murat Aslan, who was disappeared in custody, said: “August 30th is also a call for solidarity with the relatives of the disappeared. According to international human rights jurisprudence, keeping the fate of the disappeared person in the dark is considered torture for the family. We have lived, witnessed and know, Not holding the perpetrators to account has an impact on the relatives of the disappeared as devastating as naked violence. The determination that the act of disappearance is a crime under the law and the assurance that it will not be left unpunished reduces the devastation on the relatives of the disappeared; it contributes to the healing of their wounds.”

 

'PERPETRATORS ARE NOT PUNISHED'   

 

Pointing out that the perpetrators of the disappearances have not been punished, “Despite witnesses, documents and evidence, our applications regarding our disappeared, whose bodies were found in deserted roadsides, deserted hamlets or acid wells after being detained by security forces, or who were never found at all, were recorded as ‘abstract allegations’. As a result of the impunity created by this politics of denial, those who ordered the disappearance, those who carried out the crime and the authorities who condoned the crime were not prosecuted. Judicial processes that would reveal the fate of the disappeared, punish the perpetrators and those responsible were not carried out, and the truth was prevented from coming to light” Aslan said.

 

'WE WILL NOT GIVE UP'

 

Stating that they will not give up the search for those disappeared in detention, Aslan said: “We will insist on defending the right to justice, the right to truth and the right of society to have guarantees against the repetition of violations, in the face of all pressures. We remind once again that enforced disappearance is the shame of all humanity. It is the duty of every honorable person to fight to erase this shame from the face of the earth.”

 

KIRBAYIR: WE HAVE BEEN DEMANDING JUSTICE FOR YEARS

 

After the statement, Mikail Kırbayır, brother of Cemil Kırbayır who was murdered in custody, said: “We have been demanding justice in front of these barricades for years. Our mothers have persistently searched for the fate of their children since 1995 and lost their lives before finding them. These carnations are for the Saturday Mothers and all our missing persons.” 

 

After the statement, carnations were left in the square.