Saturday Mothers Continue to ‍Demand ‌Justice for Cemil Kırbayır and Other Disappeared Individuals

Ferhat Yaşar / Newspaper Wall

Saturday Mothers, the families‍ of⁤ those who disappeared in the 1980s, gathered on September 14 in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square in their 1,016th week of protest.

The protesters asked about the fate of Cemil Kırbayır, who was⁢ detained the day after the‍ September 12 military coup and ​was later killed, his body never recovered.

Since 1995, ⁣the Saturday Mothers have held a sit-in in Galatasaray Square, demanding answers about their loved ones who disappeared in‌ custody and calling for the prosecution of those responsible.

The statement was read at the ⁣gathering ⁢this week by İkbal Eren, sister of Hayrettin Eren, another victim of enforced disappearance.

Kırbayır was the first ​known case‍ of enforced disappearance in Turkey after the 1980 coup.

A 26-year-old student from​ the⁣ Kars Teaching Institute in eastern Turkey, Kırbayır was taken from his home in the village of Okçu by security forces on September 13, ‍1980, a day after the coup.

He‌ was initially brought to the 247th Infantry Regiment in Göle, where he⁣ stayed for about a week, before being transferred to ‍the ⁤Kars Police ⁢Department and then to the Kars Teaching Institute, which had been turned into⁢ a detention⁢ centre.

During his detention, ⁣Kırbayır’s family regularly visited the detention centers, accommodating his needs and ⁤receiving written messages​ from him, stating, “I’m fine, I got what you sent.”

However, on October 8, when the family returned, they were told​ that‍ their son ⁣had escaped.

Complaints filed by his father, İsmail Kırbayır, and the Turkish Bar Association yielded no results, and Kırbayır was never ‍seen again.

On ​February 5, 2011, the Saturday Mothers, including 103-year-old Berfo Kırbayır, met with then Prime⁣ Minister Recep ⁤Tayyip Erdoğan at Dolmabahçe Palace. Berfo Kırbayır shared his story, telling Erdoğan, ⁣”Find my son before I die.”

Following this meeting, ‍Erdoğan instructed⁢ the formation of a parliamentary commission, chaired by Deputy Zafer Üskül, ⁣to investigate the case. The commission ‌revealed documents from the ‌period and interviewed ‌a ⁣number of witnesses who had seen Kırbayır during the interrogation,⁢ as‌ well as the police officers and the intelligence service involved. After thorough work, the commission prepared a 350-page report.

The report documented ⁢that Cemil Kırbayır died under torture while in custody, and that his body was disposed of by the state officials who were responsible for his death. The report officially confirmed that Kırbayır disappeared while in custody, and was filed​ as a criminal complaint with the Kars Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

However, the government did not have the courage to face this crime against humanity. After a decade of uncertainty, the ⁢case ​was closed due to the statute of limitations.

Appeals by Human⁤ Rights Association lawyers to reopen the case and bring the suspects to trial were rejected. Those responsible for Kırbayır’s‌ death were not prosecuted or punished.

The statement ‌continued, “Berfo Ana and Fatma Kırbayır left‍ us a‍ legacy: regardless of the legal rulings, we‍ will continue to search‍ for our missing loved ones. We will never stop looking for Cemil and the others who disappeared in the torture chambers of the September 12 coup.”

The protesters promised that they would not stop ​demanding justice for ⁢Cemil⁤ Kırbayır and all their disappearances no matter how many years passed, “We will continue to remind the state of its obligation to act in ⁢accordance‌ with legal norms general,” they concluded.

On September 12, 1980, the military coup carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces left deep scars throughout the country.⁣ During the coup period, horrific crimes were committed, some of which have yet to⁢ recover. ⁤One of the most brutal practices of the sport was‍ the disappearance of individuals while in custody.

Translated by Ayşenaz Toptaş