Kaymaz case
The Kaymaz case describes the willful killing of the Turkish Kurds Ahmet Kaymaz and his son Uğur on November 21, 2004 in Kızıltepe . The case became known in Turkey and beyond as an extreme case of police arbitrariness against Kurdish civilians and was criticized internationally.
Sequence of events
Uğur (12 years old) and his father Ahmet Kaymaz (31 years old) lived with their family in Kızıltepe, Southeast Anatolia, on the Syrian border . Turkish security forces carried out an anti-PKK operation in the region. While unloading a truck in front of their house at noon on November 21, 2004, Ahmet Kaymaz and his son Uğur were shot several times from the weapons of Turkish security forces. The two were unarmed. Twelve year old Ugur Kaymaz was hit by 13 bullets.
The scene of the crime was prepared after the fact: weapons were placed next to the father and son who had previously been on the street in their pajamas and slippers. This was confirmed by eyewitnesses and relevant evidence. Ugur's younger siblings watched the police push his head down. Then they would have shot.
Investigations
First, the authorities said that the two dead were "terrorists". Forensic examinations showed that the child was shot in the back at close range.
Trial in Turkey
The four officers were brought to trial. The trial was moved to Eskişehir . The hearing took place on December 19, 2005. The accused police officers were acquitted on September 18, 2007. They had been charged with "homicide in violation of legitimate self-defense". The later murdered attorney Tahir Elçi appeared as a joint plaintiff at the trial.
Amnesty International noted that the suspected officers remained at large until the trial and had not been suspended from duty. The superiors responsible for the police operation had not been investigated. “Even if the police had been punished, Ugur would remain a symbol for the coming generation. But at least they would have seen that the state is doing what is right in the end, "said the brother of the killed Ahmet Kaymaz, Reşat Kaymaz, the BBC.
International reactions
The subsequent trial of four police officers was seen by many foreign observers as a test case of whether Turkey would also hold its security forces accountable and whether the country was applying the rule of law.
The Kaymaz family sued the Turkish authorities at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The proceedings at the ECHR resulted in a guilty verdict for violating Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to life. As a member of the Council of Europe , Turkey recognizes Strasbourg judgments. In February 2014, almost ten years after the deaths of father and son Kaymaz, the ECtHR sentenced the Republic of Turkey to € 143,000 in damages for the deaths of Ahmet and Uğur Kaymaz. The court ruled that the Republic of Turkey may have a. The “right to life” disregarded and approved the application of the plaintiffs Emine, Makbule and Reşat Kaymaz, mother, wife and brother of the killed Ahmet Kaymaz.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Edgar Auth: Hamburg lawyers report Erdogan for war crimes. In: www.abendblatt.de. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .
- ↑ Vanishing Point Strasbourg. In: www.tagesspiegel.de. Retrieved April 20, 2016 .
- ^ Amnesty International Germany. (No longer available online.) In: www.amnesty.de. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016 ; Retrieved April 17, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Turkish Kurds demand justice . In: BBC . June 14, 2007 ( bbc.co.uk [accessed April 17, 2016]).
- ^ Turkish Kurds demand justice . In: BBC . June 14, 2007 ( bbc.co.uk [accessed April 17, 2016]).
- ↑ RIGHTS - European court fines Turkey in the case of boy slain by police. Retrieved April 20, 2016 .
