'His house rake, he forced to migrate, his testimony tried to be changed'

2024-12-25 09:25:27


	ŞIRNEX - Sevim Encü, who lost 2 of her brothers in the Roboskî massacre and whose husband survived with injuries, stated that her husband Servet Encü was the only witness in the case and said: "My husband was constantly subjected to pressure because of this. Our house was combed, we migrated because of the pressure, but my husband did not give up his case."

	On 28 December 2011, 34 people, including 19 children, were killed in Roboskî village of Qileban (Uludere) district of Şirnex (Şırnak) province by bombs dropped from Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) warplanes taking off from Amed (Diyarbakır). 34 people who crossed the border with the knowledge of the soldiers were killed together with their mules in the bombardment of the warplanes. 27 of those who lost their lives belonged to the Encü family.

	 

	The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a decision of "lack of jurisdiction" on 11 June 2013 and sent the file to the General Staff Military Prosecutor's Office in the investigation launched on the grounds of "causing death by negligence" after the massacre. Upon the rejection of the lawyers' objection to the decision, the investigation file was taken to the Constitutional Court. On 7 January 2014, the General Staff Military Prosecutor's Office issued a decision of "non-prosecution" on the investigation file, claiming that "the Turkish Armed Forces had no fault". Since domestic remedies were exhausted after the Constitutional Court rejected the application, 281 people, including relatives of 34 people, made an individual application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 23 August 2016, but the application was rejected on 17 May 2018 on the grounds of "lack of documents".

	 

	ONLY WITNESS OF MASSACRE

	 

	It has been 13 years since the massacre, but still not a single person has been tried and punished. Sevim Encü lost her brothers Orhan (17) and Zeydan Encü (21) in the Roboskî massacre, while her husband Servet (45) Encü survived with injuries. Sevim Encü, who had lost her mother 6 months before the massacre, received the news of the massacre of her 2 brothers while she was still mourning her mother. Two years after the massacre, she lost her father Halil Encü. Sevim Encü's sufferings were not limited to this. Because of her husband Servet Encü, who was the only witness of the massacre and who survived the attack with injuries, the state's pressure and threats were never absent. On 9 March 2014, while Servet Encü, who survived the Roboskî massacre wounded, was with her children, her house was attacked with long-barreled weapons by unknown person or persons. Encü and his family survived the attack unhurt. After the attack, more than 100 shell casings were found around the house.

	 

	FORCED MIGRATION

	 

	In 2014, Servet Encü was forced to migrate to the Federated Kurdistan Region with his children due to the pressure of the state. However, after staying there for 9 months, he returned to his village due to financial difficulties. The village police station and the Şırnak Gendarmerie Command started to put pressure on the Encü family again and they were called to testify more than 100 times. Each time the police station asked Servet Encü to withdraw his statement. However, despite all the pressure, Encü did not retract his statement. Encü states that they heard the sound of a reconnaissance vehicle and then fighter jets bombing. Encü described that night with the words, "Bombs started to rain down on us from the lights illuminating the sky." Encü noted that he had not been called to the police station for the last 2 years.

	 

	Serhat Encü's wife Sevim Encü pointed out that the pressure on her family still continues, "We are not grateful to the state," she said. 

	 

	Sevim Encü, who reminded that her two brothers were killed in the Roboskî massacre, described the events as follows: "That day my younger brother Orhan said, 'I will go to the border and collect pocket money for school'. My father told him not to go. But he said he would go. A while after he went, my brother Zeydan also went. While Orhan was being bombed on this side of the border, Zeydan and his friends were on the other side of the border. Zeydan was slaughtered while running to the rescue of his brother Orhan, despite the insistence of his friends. Thirteen years have passed, but the incident is in my memory as if it happened today. They have not left our sight for a single day. Whoever had a hand in this massacre, I hope that they will experience the same as we have experienced."

	 

	HER MOTHER, FATHER AND 2 BROTHERS...

	 

	Sevim Encü stated that her father also lost his life as a result of a heart attack after her brothers. "We live this pain every day. What right did they have to put us through this? They were travelling freely every day in front of their eyes. This state was telling us, 'We won't do anything to you'. But everyone saw what they did to us. After my brothers left, they kept them waiting for 2 hours. They were eating their food when they were bombed. Six months before the massacre, my mother had passed away. Then my brothers were massacred. Then my father could not bear it and passed away. My father waited for justice, but it did not come and he died. For 4 months I cannot go to my father's house. Even if I go there, there is no one there. I have neither my mother, nor my father, nor my siblings... We still believe that one day the perpetrators of this massacre will be held accountable," Sevim Encü said. 

	 

	Sevim Encü stated that after the massacre, pressure and threats of the state started and they had to move their house to the Federated Kurdistan Region because of these pressures. Sevim Encü stated that the state used all kinds of pressure and threats to get her husband, who survived the massacre, to retract her statement and said: "My husband was the only one who survived this massacre. Many people came to our house and listened to him. Everyone said, 'We will help you, we will protect you'. But no one took care of us. That is why my husband does not talk and narrate anymore. My husband says 'enough is enough, I am tired'. After this massacre, the pressure and threats of the state never ended. We moved our house because of these threats. We stayed in the Federated Kurdistan Region for 9 months."

	 

	'MY HUSBAND DID NOT ACCEPT'

	 

	Sevim Encü stated that after 9 months in the Federated Kurdistan Region, they had difficulties in making a living and continued as follows: "My brother came to Bashûr and asked us to return to Roboskî. With the support of my brother, we returned to the village. The military called my husband to the police station almost every day to testify. One day the soldiers came and took my husband to the police station. They asked him to change his testify. They asked my husband to say that he did not know who was responsible for the massacre. My husband said that he had a conscience and that he would not allow the rights of 34 villagers to be lost. My husband said, 'I was with them and everything happened in front of my eyes. How can I say that I don't know who did it". The state told him, 'You take back your testify and we promise you that we will give you whatever you want. We will give you and your children a salary and make you a civil servant'. However, my husband did not accept this and did not give up his case. But today no one takes care of us. Despite the pressure, we did not become village guards or agents. We are not grateful to this state. We earn a living with our labour. No one dies of hunger, but those who leave do not come back once they leave."

	 

	MA / Zeynep Durgut