On June 14, AKP’s parliamentary candidate İbrahim Halil Yıldız went to shopkeeper Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar’s shop to ask for votes as part of his election campaign. The same shopkeeper had been subjected to pressure by AKP members for days beforehand. Şenyaşar said, “We have no votes to give you,” and the rest of the family who had also been threatened agreed. The MP’s brother then slapped Esvet Şenyaşar’s brother Celal Şenyaşar, and guns were fired right after.

Shopkeeper Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar and his two sons, Adil and Celal, lost their life as a result of the attack which also continued at the hospital where the wounded were taken under treatment.

While Turkish judiciary is yet to shed light on the incident and bring the perpetrators to account, police forces raided the house of Osman Şenyaşar, brother of slain shopkeeper Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar.

Osman Şenyaşar, who himself was also threatened after the massacre, had his house in Urfa raided by the anti-terror police at around 04:00 Saturday morning. Şenyaşar was not detained because he was out of the city, and all the electronic items in his house were seized.

Şenyaşar said police called him by phone and summoned him to security directorate to give his statement, saying that an arrest warrant will be issued for him if he doesn’t go to the police.

Şenyaşar stressed that while the murderer of his brother and two nephews has not been exposed yet, he himself was threatened with death by Faik Yıldız against him no legal action has been taken.

Last week, Şenyaşar filed a criminal complaint against Faik Yıldız, a relative of AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız, who threatened him with death.