Roboski families held a press conference at Amed Bar Association to mark the 100th week of the Roboski massacre which claimed the life of 34 civilians, mostly children, in an air-strike by Turkish warplanes in Uludere district of Şırnak on 28 December 2011. The press conference was joined by Bar Association chair Tahir Elçi, former chair Mehmet Emin Aktar, lawyer for families Meral Danış Beştaş and relatives of the victims.

Amed Bar Association chair Tahir Elçi said Roboski families have asked for justice for 100 weeks during which -he underlined- no perpetrators have been determined nor tried, and the chief public prosecutor's office of Diyarbakır ruled the ongoing Roboski case out of its jurisdiction and transferred the case to the military prosecutor of the chief of General Staff.

Elçi remarked that the Turkish state tried to cover the Roboski massacre up while claiming to be addressing unsolved murders of the past. Reminding of a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which found Turkey guilty in the case of the bombing of Kuşkonar and Koçağılı villages of Şırnak in 1994, Elçi said this decision should be a lesson to the Turkish state in relation to the Roboski massacre.

Elçi stressed that the transfer of the Roboski case to the military jurisdiction has damaged the public confidence in justice, and that they don't believe the military jurisdiction will impartially try those responsible for an action ordered by military authorities.

Elçi noted that families could lodge individual application to the Constitutional Court and the ECHR in the event of receiving no answer in response to their demand for the urgent finalization of the trial and the punishment of those responsible.

Speaking after, Peace and Democracy (BDP) vice co-chair and lawyer for Roboski families Meral Danış Beştaş reminded that the BDP had earlier taken the Roboski massacre to the International Criminal Court which however rejected the application because Turkey did not sign or ratify Rome Agreement which is the basis for the International Criminal Court.

Veli Encü who lost his eleven relatives in the massacre pointed out that the only thing they have asked for since 701 days is “justice for Roboski”, noting that families of the victims have faced trials and punishments in response to their actions and demands for justice.

“Stop adding pain to our pain and hear our voices and screams for justice”, Encü added.