VAN - The file of Remziye Bor, who was killed in a police raid on her home five years ago, was brought before the Constitutional Court. While Bor's husband repeated his demand for justice, the attorney of the family Veysi Güneş warned that the file might remain unsolved. 

 

Remziye Bor (27), a 7.5-month-old pregnant woman living in Van's İpekyolu district, was shot and seriously injured by the police who raided her house on April 19, 2016, and died in the hospital on 17 May. While no investigation was launched against the perpetrators of the incident for a long time, a lawsuit was filed against Bor and her husband İrfan Bor on December 2, 2016, on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization". While the charge against Bor was dismissed because she lost her life on December 29, her husband İrfan Bor was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison in the subsequent trial.

 

THE FILE WAS NOT PUT INTO PROCESS

 

The Bor family, on the other hand, filed a criminal complaint against the law enforcement officers at the Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on February 6, 2017. However, although more than two years have passed, there has been no development regarding the complaint. The attorneys then asked what happened with their applications in 2019. After the application, it was revealed that the documents of the criminal complaint were lost and not processed. Attorneys were told that many documents were lost after the 15 July 2016 coup attempt and the investigation prosecutor was dismissed from office for being a member of the Gülen congregation which was later named "FETÖ" and declared a terrorist organization.

 

APPLICATION TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

 

On August 22, 2019, the attorneys made an application to the Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with the charge of "reckless killing". In December 2020, the prosecutor's office ruled "non prosecution" on the investigation. The attorneys brought the decision before the Van 2nd Criminal Court of Peace. The judge rejected the appeal on February 8, 2021.

 

The attorneys made an individual application to the Constitutional Court on the grounds of "violation of right to life" and "right to a fair trial".

 

Family's attorney Veysi Güneş and Bor's husband İrfan Bor evaluated the legal process and what happened in this process to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA).

 

'JUDICIAL OBSTRUCTION'

 

'The Republic of Turkey has been a country of unidentified murders" said Attorney Güneş, and stated that they have been making efforts to enlighten the Bor incident for about five years. Stating that their legal struggles "hit the walls of the courthouse", Güneş noted that their efforts were frustrated due to the rigid attitude of the judiciary. Güneş said, "It has been five years and we made six applications. We requested the extension of the investigation. But this request was not taken into consideration. We exhausted the domestic legal remedies other than the individual application we made to the Constitutional Court."

 

THE FILE GOES TOWARDS TO REMAIN UNSOLVED 

 

Saying that the prosecutor's office did not take any action to reveal the facts, Güneş said “The death of Remziye Bor is an example of the massacre experienced by Kurds and Kurdish women in particular. We are faced with a serious non-investigation process. The three applications we made disappeared in the corridors of the courthouse. Our last application has resulted in non-prosecution. This decision does not contain anything to shed light on the incident.  Saying that the Remziye Bor incident was going towards "remaining unsolved" just like other files have in the past, Güneş pointed to the Constitutional Court application and said, "The decision to be made by the Constitutional Court is very important. If the Constitutional Court decides 'inadmissibility', the Remziye Bor file will remain unsolved.

 

WAITING FOR 'JUSTICE'

 

İrfan Bor, the husband of Bor, who has been waiting for justice for years, said, "All the women of the world were slaughtered in the person of Remziye." Underlining that they will not give up their struggle for the law, Bor stated that they would not accept calling his wife a "terrorist." Saying that his wife was murdered, Bor stated that they wanted justice for all the murdered women.

 

MA / Müjdat Can - Özlem Yayan