AMED - Saliha Önkol stated that she could not forget the death of her daughter Ceylan, who was killed by a mortar bullet fired from the police station, and said: "Every time a child dies, I feel like Ceylan was killed again."

 

14 years have passed since the death of 12-year-old Ceylan Önkol, who was killed by a mortar bullet fired from the police station on September 28, 2009, in the Xanbaz (Hanbaz) hamlet of the Kanîsipî (Şenlik) rural neighborhood of Amed's Licê (Lice) district. The perpetrators of Önkol, who was murdered while grazing animals, have not been found even after 14 years.

 

The legal process initiated regarding Önkol's death started with violations. The prosecutor, who was in charge of examining the area where Önkol was killed, went to the scene 3 days later on the grounds that "my life is not safe". The findings in the region were given to the Lice Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. In the military and police reports prepared regarding the incident, it was claimed that Önkol was hit with a tahra (curved pruning knife). In the report prepared by gendarmerie official Yüksel Şanlıtürk, it was stated that the Önkol family "presented themselves as victims in order to receive compensation from the state."

 

Lawyers of the Önkol family applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2010. Lawyers applied to the ECHR again in May 2012 due to the fact that the investigation was not carried out effectively and impartially, requests to deepen the investigation were rejected, no lawsuit was filed despite the passage of time, and no suspects were found. The ECtHR concluded the application of the Önkol family on January 17, 2017 and decided that "there was no violation in terms of effective investigation and the right to life".

 

PERMANENT SEARCH WARRANT

 

Lice Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a "permanent search warrant" in the investigation file it initiated regarding Önkol's death on April 30, 2014. The reason for this decision was that "the evidence and reports in the file are insufficient to identify the perpetrators." Önkol family lawyers also filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Internal Affairs at Diyarbakır 2nd Administrative Court, demanding material and moral compensation. The court decided to pay 28 thousand 208 TL compensation to the family. The court rejected the request for non-pecuniary damages, based on the "Law on Compensation for Damages Resulting from the Fight against Terrorism".

 

The decision was moved to the Council of State. On May 16, 2019, the Council of State overturned the decision to pay compensation to Önkol's family and ruled that the compensation case should be considered within the scope of the "strict liability" principle or the "service defect" principle. Thereupon, the Administrative Court decided to pay the family a total of 283 thousand TL in material and moral compensation on March 8, 2021. It was decided that Önkol was 10 percent at fault and the administration was 90 percent at fault in the incident.

 

Both Önkol family lawyers and ministry lawyers once again appealed to the Council of State. In its appeal to the Council of State, the Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed that it had "no faults" in the incident.

 

While the "permanent search warrant" continues in the case regarding Önkol's death, the family's pain has not subsided even though 14 years have passed. The family has been seeking justice for their daughter for 14 years. The family, who never took down their daughter's 7-year-old photo from a corner of the house, emphasized that they would not give up their fight until the perpetrators were found.

 

'THE PERPETRATORS SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOUND'

 

Anne Önkol continued as follows: "14 years have passed. How my daughter was killed and who killed her... We don't know anything. The perpetrators should have been found by now. Thousands of children are being killed like Ceylan. Wherever a child dies or is killed, I feel like Ceylan was killed again. I feel the pain of those mothers with them. No matter what country it is in, we want wars to end, we want peace. This happens to the children who are in wars. Even if a thousand years pass, I will not forget Ceylan, I will not let her forget."

 

MA / Revşan Sağlam