AMED- Telling her 16-year-old daughter Rozerin, who was murdered during the curfew in Sur, Fahriye Çukur said: "I cannot forget her smile. As long as I am alive, I will defend my daughter's righteousness and not give up her cause."

 

Although a long time has passed since the curfews declared in Amed's (Diyarbakır) Sur district between 2015 and 2016, what happened during the curfew is still alive in the memories of the city's residents. Rozerin Çukur is one of the first names that come to mind when curfews in Sur are mentioned. Çukur was targeted by snipers on January 8, 2016, when she was only 16 years old. The grave dug to bury Çukur's body remained empty for 4 months because her body was not given.

 

A "no prosecution" decision was made regarding the criminal complaint filed for the prosecution of the perpetrators of Çukur. Applications to higher courts were rejected. The Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed Branch Legal Commission, which provided legal support to Çukur's family, applied to the Constitutional Court (AYM) on November 18, 2020, on the grounds of "violation of the right to life". Upon the application, the Constitutional Court requested an opinion from the Ministry of Justice regarding the "violation of the right to life".

 In their opinion on December 12, 2022, the Ministry claimed that Çukur was a "member of the organization". Despite the passage of time, the Constitutional Court has not made a final decision regarding the application.

 

'I CANNOT GET HER SMILE OUT OF MY MIND'

 

 Stating that although 8 years have passed since the murder of her daughter Rozerin, her pain is still fresh, Fahriye Çukur said that her daughter was murdered 8 years ago along with her childhood dreams. Talking about her daughter's love for photography, mother Çukur said: "She loved taking nature pictures. I enrolled her in a photography course because of her interest. She loved reading."

 

Mother Çukur stated that her daughter, whose "smile she cannot forget", has many dreams to be beneficial to the public. Çukur said: "I couldn't bear to give her work. First, she wanted to become a lawyer. But then she said, 'If I become a lawyer, I will defend the wrong person in return for money, and make it seem like they are right. I do not like injustice. I will become a psychologist, I want to do something for the benefit of my people, I want to give them morale.’ Even though she was young, her speeches made her look like an adult.”

 

HER GRAVE REMAINED EMPTY FOR 4 MONTHS

 

Reminding that the cemetery they dug after her daughter's death remained empty for 4 months, mother Çukur said: "It was winter and there was snow on the ground when my daughter was killed. Her grave was dug, but since there was no body, we covered her grave with nylon. The grave remained this way for 4 months. We went on a hunger strike for 20 days to retrieve the bodies. Two bodies were left outside, we were able to pick them up. That's why we ended the protests. Funerals started to be given in April. We were able to pick up Rozerin's body in the summer. She was left with only bones.”

 

Emphasizing that the pain they experienced cannot be described, mother Çukur said:  "Only those who experience this know." Çukur continued as follows: "We are the people of this land. Our children were killed on the streets where they were born, grew up and went to school. This is a cruelty. The bodies of our children remained on the ground for weeks. There are still bodies that were not given for years. There are still 7 bodies in Sur. I will always defend my daughter's rightness against what the Ministry of Internal Affairs says about my daughter. My daughter did not have a gun in her hand. She was a senior in high school. She had a bag, a notebook and a pen in her hand. She had nothing else. As long as I am alive, I will not give up on my daughter's case.”

 

LAWYER ZEYTUN: THE RIGHT TO LIVE OF 300 CIVILIANS WAS VIOLATED

 

Human Rights Association (İHD) lawyer Abdullah Zeytun, who followed the case process, said that the decision not to prosecute shows that the security perspective dominates the judicial system. Pointing out that the right to life of at least 300 civilians was violated during the curfew period, Zeytun said: "We are talking about a process in which no ordinary legal action was taken regarding these killings. In this sense, all the deaths of civilians both in Sur and in places where curfew was implemented were reported as 'organization member’. There is a legal policy that accepts killings as legitimate. The last thing we saw in the Helin Hasret Şen case was that, despite the camera footage and witness statements, the defendant law enforcement officer was sentenced for reckless homicide. How can the evidence of a crime be more clear and concrete than this? ”

 

Lawyer Zeytun said: "We cannot handle the decisions of the judiciary in Turkey independently of current security policies The fact of impunity regarding Rozerin's death is also a result of the security approach. Since the past, there has been no practice, regulation or progress regarding the implementation of international law rules and the execution of violation decisions. On the contrary, there are ongoing violations in the Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and decisions by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to initiate violation procedures against Turkey. Of course, judges did not create the justice crisis alone. But they could have taken a side of justice.”

 

MA / Mehmet Güleş