MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU 

Amed – 11 years have passed since 34 people, including 17 children, were killed in an airstrike launched by the Turkish Air Force in the Roboski village of Şırnak’s Uludere district on December 28, 2011. Nobody has faced trial for committing the massacre ignored by the government saying it was a mistake. The applications made by the families of 34 victims have been rejected by local courts for different reasons for 11 years and no judicial or administrative investigation has been launched against any of the public officials. The families of 34 persons applied to the European Court of Human Rights; however, the court issued an inadmissibility decision regarding the application concerning the Roboski massacre on the grounds that domestic remedies had not been exhausted. Then, the families brought the case before the Turkish Constitutional Court.

Nobody has faced trial

As part of the investigations launched after the massacre, three separate legal processes were initiated regarding the Roboski massacre: criminal, administrative, and legislative. The most detailed investigation among these processes was the administrative investigation. At that time, the Civil Inspection Board of the Ministry of Interior appointed three rapporteurs to determine the possible responsibility of public officials in the incident. On February 28, 2012, the rapporteurs released a report suggesting that many public officials should be investigated. Despite the report, none of the public officials has faced trial for 11 years. During that time, a special investigative commission was established at the Turkish Grand National Assembly to investigate the Roboski massacre. However, the commission prepared a report and claimed that there had been no deliberate intent by the officials involved.

The case sent back to the Constitutional Court

The legal process initiated regarding the Roboski Massacre causes the families to suffer more. Finally, a criminal investigation was carried out regarding the massacre. First, the Uludere Prosecutor's Office sent the case to the Diyarbakır Prosecutor's Office, and the Diyarbakır Prosecutor's Office sent the case to Malatya Prosecutor's Office. Malatya Second Army Prosecutor's Office reported the case to the Turkish General Staff Prosecutor's Office. The investigation was carried out by General Staff Military Prosecutor Ali Müjdat Eski, who was dismissed after the 15th July coup attempt in Turkey. The General Staff Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute the case further in January 2014 on the ground that the authorized soldiers had made an inevitable mistake regarding terrorist activity and ordered the bombardment. After this decision, the lawyers of the families applied to the Air Force Commander’s Military Court against the decision; however, the court rejected the objection on similar grounds.

After the decision of non-jurisdiction, the families of 40 citizens, including the injured ones, applied to the European Court of Human Rights. The court issued an inadmissibility decision regarding the application concerning the Roboski massacre on the grounds that domestic remedies had not been exhausted. After this decision, the case was sent back to the Turkish Constitutional Court.

‘The policy of impunity is as old as the Republic’

Although 11 years have passed, nobody has stood trial. Human rights defender and lawyer Reyhan Yalçındağ Baydemir said that the policy of impunity is as old as the Turkish Republic. “The Roboski Massacre is one of the incidents that will be never forgotten.”

‘Serious rights violations generally result in impunity’

Pointing out that those who ordered the attack that killed dozens of civilians, mostly children, knew the people were civilians, Reyhan Yalçındağ Baydemir said, “This attack should be defined as a negligence or unpredictable action of the authorities. The investigations or very few lawsuits regarding such serious violations in this region generally result in impunity. We should emphasize that impunity has turned into a systematic policy. Roboski is a problem not only of Şırnak or the Kurds, but of Turkey.”

‘People’s right to life has been violated’

“The people’s right to life has been violated in the incidents that took place before and after the Roboski Massacre,” Reyhan Yalçındağ Baydemir said, “The policy of impunity in Turkey is a problem as old as the republic. Due to the policy of impunity, many crimes have been committed. Those who are responsible for these crimes are acquitted. Since the law enforcement in Turkey has been protected, many rights violations have been committed in Roboski and in the region. On the anniversary of the Roboski Massacre, we should underline that nobody is safe and has the right to life unless this policy of immunity ends.”