URFA - 66-year-old Emine Şenyaşar who turned her grief of the murder of her family members into an indomitable struggle, has become the symbol of justice imprisoned in concrete blocks with the system established by the Turkish state.

 

66-year-old Emine Şenyaşar, living in the Suruç district of Urfa who was known only by her neighbors and family just a few years ago, is known by everyone inside and outside of Turkey as the symbol of justice. What made her known by all these people was her struggle following the murders of her family members. Şenyaşar whose family members were slaughtered by the relatives and bodyguards of  AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız have become the symbol of justice with her struggle. 

 

Family of Emine Şenyaşar who was born on April 2, 1956 in the Eşme village of Suruç had to migrate to Eşme village between 1925- 1930 as a result of the pressure of the state. She grew up in this village with 15 siblings, 7 of whom are her own and 8 are step-daughters and sons.

 

SHE WORKED IN COTTON FIELDS ALL HER CHILDHOOD 

 

Emine Şenyaşar, the daughter of a merchant, could not go to school since there were no school close to their village and worked in the cotton fields all her childhood. She left her village for the first time when her father was arrested. Her father who was shot in an armed fight was arrested even though he was the victim of that fight. He was held in prison for 4 years. Emine Şenyaşar was able to get out of her village three times to visit her father in prison until the day she got married.

 

SHE WAS FORCED INTO A MARRIAGE AT THE AGE OF 20

 

Emine Şenyaşar was forced into marriage with Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar in exchange for her brother's marriage with someone from Şenyaşar family. Emine Şenyaşar said: "They made me wear a dress and told me I was married. I hadn't seen him once before the day I got married. We moved to Suruç after we got married. He was a merchant. I lived with his family for 4 years after I got married. Then we moved to Tümsekli village."

 

ZEYDE: FIRST GRIEF OF LOSING A CHILD

 

Şenyaşar, who was engaged in animal husbandry and agriculture in the village, went to Harran to work at the cotton fields certain times of the year due to economic hardship. Emine Şenyaşar who gave birth to her first child Zeyde, lost her at the age of 25 due to cancer. Zeyde who was married at the time, entrusted her 3-year-old daughter to her mother before she passed away. Rojda, who is 18 now, still lives with her grandmother.

 

After Zeyde, Emine Şenyaşar had 6 more children. Celal, Perihan, Ferit, Fadıl, Adil and Mehmet. With the increased state pressure, Şenyaşar family had to move to the city center of Urfa from Suruç during 1990's. Celal Şenyaşar who took over the management of the shop he was working at for 10 years, turned that shop into a glassware shop which became the place where the three people in Şenyaşar family was attacked 13 years later.

 

JUNE 14, 2018

 

Another phase started for Şenyaşar family on July 14, 2018. As a result of the attacked carried out by the relatives and bodyguards of AKP MP İbrahim Halil Şenyıldız who came to the shop of Şenyaşar family while they were canvasing the neighborhood before elections, Celal, Mehmet, Fadıl and Ferit Şenyaşar and brother of AKP MP Yıldız Mehmet Şah Yıldız was badly wounded and taken to hospital, where the members of Şenyaşar family was brutally lynched and murdered after Mehmet Şah Yıldız lost his life. A massacre was carried out in Suruç State Hospital while AKP MPs and Urfa Governor was waiting at the front gates of the hospital.

 

3 BROTHERS SURVIVED WHEN THEY WERE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER HOSPITAL

 

Father Hacı Esvet Şenyar rushed to the hospital after he heard what happened and was also attacked and murdered there in front of hundreds of public officials and hospital staff. Fadıl, Mehmet and Ferit Şenyaşar was rushed into ambulances and transferred to other hospitals and therefore were able to survive the massacre.

 

EMİNE ŞENYAŞAR LEARNED ABOUT HER HUSBAND'S DEATH WHEN SHE SAW THE THIRD GRAVE..

 

The only person who was not physically injured in the attack was Emine Şenyaşar. Her husband was also killed in the attack carried out inside the hospital. She understood her husband was also killed when she saw there was a third grave dug at the cemetery.

 

FADIL WAS ARRESTED

 

Fadıl Şenyaşar, who was seriously injured in the massacre, was taken to the police station while was still under treatment. Fadıl Şenyaşar, who was referred to the courthouse after statement was taken, was arrested by the Şanlıurfa Criminal Court of Peace, and sent to prison. 

 

EMİNE ŞENYAŞAR VISITED THEIR GRAVES IN SECRET

 

Emine Şenyaşar couldn't go back to her home in Suruç for a year due to the danger posed by the family of AKP MP Yıldız. The rest of the family who survived the attack had to move to the city center of Urfa. Emine Şenyaşar had to visit the graves of her two sons and husband in secret to protect her family from another attack. She was able to go back to her home in Suruç after a year with the support of the people. 

 

Starting a struggle for justice, for the punishment of those who murdered her sons and husband, Emine Şenyaşar never took a step back despite the violence she was subjected to, despite she was detained more than a dozen times in 3 years and 9 months.

 

UNTIL JUSTICE IS SERVED.. 

 

Emine Şenyaşar went to the Urfa Courthouse every week to ask if there was any progress in the file. Mother and son Ferit Şenyaşar, who came to the courthouse to talk to the prosecutor about the file, sat on the steps of the courthouse, saying, "We want justice now," when they could not get any response from the prosecutor and started the sit-in that continues today. Their demands were for the perpetrators to be caught and arrested and the Fadıl Şenyaşar, being held in solitaary confinement from the first day he was arrested to be released. Şenyaşar, who went to the courthouse to meet with the case prosecutors dozens of times, started the Justice Watch with her son Ferit Şenyaşar on March 9, 2021, as the doors were shut in their faces everytime they tried. Emine Şenyaşar was detained 6 times, summoned for deposition 14 times and 4 law suits were filed against her after the sit-in started. Despite her advancing age and her health issues, Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit Şenyaşar came to the courthouse every week day from their house 42 kilometers away from the courthouse and started the sit-in early in the morning. Emine Şenyaşar needs an operation to get better, but she refuses to undergo surgery before her son is released from prison.

 

UNINTERRUPTED STRUGGLE

 

Emine Şenyaşar continued the sit-in she started for justice uninterrupted despite heat and cold. The sit-in was visited by supporters from Kars to Muğla, from İstanbul to Hakkari and embraced by the people. The family held talks in Antep, Diyarbakır, İstanbul and Ankara. The sit-in is about the complete its first year, yet there still are no developments on the case.

 

SHE BECAME AN INSPIRATION

 

Demandinh 'Justice for all', Emine Şenyaşar has become an inspiration to all despite her health issues and all obstructions of the state. On June 15, 2021, an armed group including son of former AKP MP Zülfükar İzol and his brothers raided the house of another family from the same tribe, killed Zozan İzol, her husband Hakkı İzol and Meral İzol and their son Musa Serhat İzol. Some members of the murdered family visited Emine Şenyaşar and Serdar İzol who lost his wife, son, and two brothers started a sit in in front of Urfa Courthouse on September 21, 2021.

 

RELATIVES OF PRISONERS

 

Following the sit-in of Şenyaşar family, voices demanding justice began to rise from many different cities of Turkey. People who could not get justice from the courts started to stage sit-in protests all over Turkey trying to be heard by the authorities and the public. One of these sit-in protests was launched by the relatives of political prisoners all around Turkey. The sit-in protests were launched in Diyarbakır, Van and İzmir.

 

GÜLİSTAN DOKU 

 

Another family that was encouraged by the Şenyaşar family's struggle for justice was the Doku family. The family of Gülistan Doku who has been missing since January 5, 2020, started a sit-in in front of the Tunceli Courthouse. The family living in the Ergani district of Diyarbakır, went to Dersim to convey their demand for justice to the state officials and to the public.

 

'JUSTICE WATCH' COMPLETED A YEAR

 

Emine Şenyaşar whose rebellion against injustice created a domino effect, completed a year. Stating that she raised her children with great difficulty, Emine Şenyaşar spoke about Adil Şenyaşar who was killed in the attack with tears in her eyes: "He was going to get married. They always came to my house. They never left me alone. We planted fruit trees in 3 acres of land 3 months before they were murdered. Celal told me, "We probably won't be able to eat these fruits but our children will" as if he knew he was going to be killed."

 

HER LAST CONVERSATION WITH HER SON  

 

Stating that she remembers the day of the massacre like yesterday, Emine Şenyaşar said: "I was coming from the funeral of a relative. I stopped by the shop. I saw Adil but I couldn't see Celal. It was a day before the Ramadan Holiday so it was very crowded. Adil told me that they were too tired but they would be able to rest during the holidays. I went back home. Celal called me and asked what I cooked for dinner. This was the last time I spoke to him."

 

Stating that she couldn't see her children when she rushed to the shop after she heard about the attack because they were taken to the hospital, Şenyaşar said: "I heard that Celal told one of his friends not to take them to the hospital, that they will kill them if they were taken to the hospital. I didn't hear the sound of the gunshots. They were already killed when I got there. They attacked my husband the minute we walked in the hospital. The people attacked us told that they were going to kill us. Someone I know got me out of the hospital. I saw my son Fadıl in Balıklıgöl State Hospital. He was wounded. Then I went to Suruç to bury my family.."

 

'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH'

 

Underlining that they are demanding justice from day one, Şenyaşar told that no one was arrested even though she identified 20 people who took part in the massacre and added, "Enough is enough. It's been years. We are demanding justice with a sit-in for a year now. I will not end the sit-in before my son in prison comes back home."

 

MA / Emrullah Acar