Families of the victims and survivors of Ankara massacre threatened to be ‘forcefully taken to the court’
HÜSEYİN ŞİMŞEK
Photography by Recep Yılmaz
The first hearing of the case of ISIL’s suicide bomb attack at Peace Rally in Ankara last year on October 10 will be held this year on November 7. There are 493 complainants in the case, including the relatives of the 103 victims who lost their lives and several others who got wounded. Of these complainants, those who reside outside of Ankara have been called to appear before the court in their towns in order to testify prior to the actual hearing on November 7.
Complainants have been informed about these ‘instructional hearings’ through writing, where they have been ordered to attend to a local court before coming to Ankara on November 7 to be present at the actual first hearing of the case. Complainants, who are either the survivors of the Ankara massacre or the relatives of those killed in the attack, have also been informed that ‘unless they appear at a local court, they will be brought forcefully.
Two complainants in Gebze ordered to appear before the court
Two complainants who live in Gebze district of İstanbul, Delal Erol and İbrahim Aytan, had been given notice to appear before their local court and testify. As they did not show up at the court, a new notice has been sent warning them that ‘they would be taken to the court forcefully if they did not appear on October 24th.
A lawyer in the case, İlke Işık, has explained that there is no legal ground for such ‘forceful attendance’ of a complainant.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/10-ekim-magdurlarina-yakalama-tehdidi-132286.html