Prosecutor declares Suruç victim Şen a “terrorist”

In the hearing of the case against journalist Oktay Candemir, the prosecutor alleged that Yunus Emre Şen, who lost his life in the Suruç Massacre, was a “member of a terrorist organization”.

The hearing in the case against journalist Oktay Candemir for “terrorist propaganda” with the news articles he wrote and his posts on social media listed as evidence was held in the Van High Criminal Court No.5. Journalist Candemir and his lawyers were present in the hearing.

CANDEMİR: “NOT A TERRORIST, A MARTYR”

The indictment prepared by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office considered the funeral processions of YPG, YPJ and HPG members Candemir had followed for journalistic purposes to be “terrorist propaganda”. The indictment also mentions the funeral ceremony of Yunus Emre Şen, who lost his life in the Suruç Massacre of July 20, 2015. The prosecutor alleged that the word “martyr” Candemir used for Şen in a social media post is a crime.

In his defense, Candemir said: “The civilian citizens murdered by ISIS are martyrs. Yunus Emre Şen is a martyr, in that he as a civilian lost his life in the massacre.”

THE COURT WILL INVESTIGATE “WHETHER ŞEN IS A TERRORIST”

Lawyer Bayram Kaval provided the court with evidence that Yunus Emre Şen was a civilian who lost his life in the Suruç Massacre, but the court panel postponed the hearing to November 1, 2018 to “investigate whether Yunus Emre Şen was a member of a terrorist organization or not”.