Saturday Mothers meet for 1021st time, seek justice for Fehmi Tosun
Turkey's Saturday Mothers gathered for a symbolic 1021st time at Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square and sought the fate of Fehmi Tosun, who was forcibly disappeared under detention 29 years ago.
Ferhat Yaşar / DUVAR
Turkey's Saturday Mothers, a group who has been holding vigils for their relatives who disappeared or were killed in suspicious circumstances in the 1990s, held its 1021st gathering on Oct. 19 at Istanbul’s iconic Galatasaray Square.
The group sought justice for Fehmi Tosun this week, who was forcibly disappeared under detention in 1995.
In a statement, the group said Tosun was a 35-year-old man and father of five children, living in a village in the southeastern Diyarbakır province.
“The Tosun family was forced to migrate to Istanbul. On the morning of Oct. 19, 1995, Fehmi Tosun had breakfast with his close friend Hüseyin Aydemir at his house in Avcılar (district). After breakfast, the two friends left the house together and never returned. In the evening of the same day, Fehmi Tosun was brought to the front of his house in a white Renault car with the license plate 34 UD 597 by three armed men in plain clothes with walkie-talkies. As he was heading towards the garden of the house with these people, he shouted 'They are going to kill me' to his wife and children who saw him. When they ran to him, Fehmi Tosun was forced into the vehicle and taken away,” the group said.
It added the security forces refused to help the family regarding Fehmi Tosun’s disappearance.
“Fehmi Tosun's detention was denied and he was never heard from again. Unable to obtain results through domestic remedies, the family applied to the ECHR. In 2003, the case was concluded and the (Turkish) government argued to the ECHR: ‘Our government regrets that the disappearance of Fehmi Tosun occurred. It is accepted that an incomplete investigation into the disappearance of a person constitutes a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.’,” it added.
The group urged the AKP government to “fulfill its obligation to ensure an effective investigation into the Fehmi Tosun case” which was closed due to the statute of limitations.
“When it comes to enforced disappearances, the state in Turkey denies the truth instead of clarifying it. It does not punish the perpetrators of gross human rights violations, but rather protects them,” the group said.
Since 1995, the Saturday Mothers have staged a sit-in at Galatasaray Square, demanding answers about their loved ones who disappeared in custody and calling for the prosecution of those responsible.
(English version by Alperen Şen)