Minister of Justice rejects meeting with Emine Şenyaşar

Emine Şenyaşar's request to meet with the Minister of Justice was once again rejected.

Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit Şenyaşar, a deputy for the Green Left Party, continued their Vigil for Justice in front of the Ministry of Justice in Ankara.

On the 24th day, the Şenyaşar family made a press statement in the garden of the Parliament before going in front of the Ministry of Justice.

Ferit Şenyaşar said: “There is a hand that interferes with the judiciary. We want this hand removed. Our brother is innocent. He has been imprisoned for 5 years. There is security camera footage. There is an expert report. This is evidence in my brother's favour. Despite all this evidence, my brother is still in prison. Three of our family members have been killed, and one is unjustly and unlawfully imprisoned."

The Şenyaşar family then marched to the Ministry of Justice. Human Rights Association IHD Central Executive Board (MYK) member Nuray Çevirmen and IHD Ankara Branch co-chair Aslı Saraç attended the march, despite the attempt made by the police who didn’t want them to join the family. The police also prevented members of the press from taking pictures and photographs. The Şenyaşar family conveyed their request to meet with the minister. However, ministry officials said that the minister rejected the request for a meeting. The family continued their protest at the ministry gate.

Background

On 14 June 2018, the bodyguards and relatives of AKP Urfa MP Ibrahim Halil Yıldız attacked the Şenyaşar family's shop in Suruç during the election campaign.

In the attack, brothers Celal, Adil, Mehmet, Fadıl and Ferit Şenyaşar were severely injured and hospitalized. Relatives and supporters of AKP MP Yıldız killed Celal and Adil Şenyaşar in hospital, and their father Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar, when he went to the hospital to see his sons. He was brutally murdered, being lynched in front of his wife, Emine Şenyaşar.

Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit have been holding a Justice Vigil in front of the Courthouse of Urfa since 9 March 2021, demanding those responsible to be brought to account.

On the 846th day of the vigil in front of the Courthouse in Urfa, the Şenyaşar family ended their protest for the time being, announcing that they would move to Ankara if there was not "a hint of justice" at the hearing to be held in Malatya on 18 July.