Saturday Mothers/People gathered at Galatasaray Square for the 1032nd time today to demand the fate of their relatives who were disappeared and murdered under custody and to demand the prosecution of the perpetrators. Saturday Mothers/People carried carnations and photographs of the disappeared. Many relatives of the disappeared and human rights defenders participated in the protest and asked for the fate of Ayhan and Ali Efeoğlu, brothers who were disappeared in custody in Istanbul.

 

Oya Ersoy, Secretary of IHD Istanbul Branch, called for an end to the restrictions in Galatasaray Square. Oya Ersoy said, "Turkey can only become a democratic republic if the practice of law is in line with the rule of law. Our presence in Galatasaray is the most important proof that the practice of law in Turkey is not functioning properly."

 

BROTHERS DISAPPEARED IN CUSTODY

 

Oya Ersoy stated that Ayhan Efeoğlu was detained by plainclothes police officers on 6 October 1992 in front of Yıldız Technical University, where he was a student, and that he was never heard from again after being taken to the Istanbul Provincial Security Directorate. Oya Ersoy stated that the relevant institutions told the family that Efeoğlu was not in custody and that two years later, his brother Ali Efeoğlu was detained on 5 January 1994 in the vicinity of Pendik in Istanbul. 

 

Oya Ersoy said, "Unable to find Ayhan, the family applied to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to find out the fate of Ali. However, no effective investigation was conducted into the disappearance of Ayhan and Ali Efeoğlu. The investigations were closed with a decision of non-prosecution due to statute of limitations."

 

CONFESSION BY ÇARKIN: I BURIED THEM WITH MY HANDS

 

Reminding that in 2011 former special operations police officer Ayhan Çarkın stated that he had witnessed the torture and murder of Ayhan Efeoğlu while he was in custody, Oya Ersoy stated the following: "In his confession, Ayhan Çarkın said, 'I buried him with my own hands' and gave the names of the police officers who interrogated Ayhan Efeoğlu under torture and lost his body. Following these confessions, the Efeoğlu family applied to the prosecutor's office and demanded that the file be reopened and an effective and independent investigation be carried out to determine the place where their son was buried. They also filed a criminal complaint against 8 police officers working in the Anti-Terror Branch of Istanbul Security Directorate. Then, they applied to Bursa 2nd Civil Court of First Instance and filed a lawsuit for non-pecuniary damages against the Ministry of Interior, stating that after Ayhan Çarkın's statements it became clear that their son had been killed in the police force. In its reply to the court, the Ministry requested that the file be sent to Istanbul since the graves of the alleged missing persons are in Istanbul and the investigation is being conducted in Istanbul."

 

'JUSTICE NOT DONE'

 

Oya Ersoy stated that despite the evidence and witness statements, no investigation and prosecution has been carried out to ensure justice until today and added: "We insist on demanding that the fate of the brothers Ayhan and Ali Efeoğlu be revealed and justice be done. No matter how many years pass, we will not give up demanding justice for all the disappeared and reminding that the state has to act within universal legal norms."

 

The protest ended after carnations were left at Galatasaray Square.