Istanbul- The Saturday Mothers have been holding a peaceful vigil every Saturday in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square since May 1995 to justice for their disappeared loved ones. The Saturday Mothers held their 1064th vigil today.

Gathering in the square by holding carnations and photographs of their disappeared loved ones, the Saturday Mothers demanded justice for Mehmet Salim Acar, who was forcibly disappeared in police custody in Amed (Diyarbakır) 31 years ago.

According to the statement released by the Saturday Mothers, Mehmet Salim Acar was a farmer in the Ambar neighborhood of Amed’s Bismil district and he was forced into a White Toros (car brand) by unidentified people on August 20, 1994 while working in a cotton field with his 13-year-old son and another farmer. “Mehmet Salim Acar’s daughter and neighbors saw Mehmet Salim Acar, whose eyes and mouth were tied, inside the car while washing clothes by the river,” said İkbal Eren, one of the relatives of victims of enforced disappearances. They also saw five people in another car just behind the car driving away to Bismil. The family learnt that the cars had entered the Gendarmerie Battalion in Bismil and applied to local military, judicial and administrative authorities to learn where Mehmet Salim was and why he was detained. The family then submitted petitions to all relevant national authorities, including the Presidency, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Human Rights, requesting the security of life for Acar.”

The family of Mehmet Salim Acar also filed a criminal complaint against İzzet Cural, the commander of the Gendarmerie Battalion in Bismil, and Ahmet Babayiğit, a gendarmerie officer, accusing them of being responsible for kidnapping Mehmet Salim Acar. “However, the Diyarbakır Provincial Administrative Board decided not to hold a trial on the grounds of ‘insufficient evidence’ on January 23, 1997.”

‘An effective investigation must be launched’

Recalling that the ECHR ruled that the right to life had been violated on April 8, 2004 because no effective investigation had not been conducted, İkbal Eren said, “The judgments from the European Court of Human Rights are binding on the states concerned. Therefore, the state must fulfill its legal obligations and effectively investigate the disappearance of Mehmet Salim Acar in custody. We will keep demanding justice for Mehmet Salim Acar and for our disappeared loved ones and reminding everyone that the state must act according to universal law.”

The vigil of the Saturday Mothers ended after they placed carnations in Galatasaray Square.