Emine Şenyaşar, an activist who has been demanding justice for three family members murdered by people connected to a lawmaker from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), marks the 108th day of her protest outside the Ministry of Justice in Ankara, supported by numerous labor unions and political groups, the Evrensel news website reported.
On the 108th day of her protest, several labor organizations, including the Revolutionary Construction, Building and Road Workers Union (DEV Yapı-İş), the Construction Workers Union (İnşaat İş), the Shipbuilding and Maritime Transport, Warehousing and Warehousing Workers Union (Limiter İş) and the Labor Party (EMEP) Mamak district organization, paid her visits to express their solidarity.
Speaking on behalf of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), Osman Üney addressed the crowd in Kurdish, emphasizing that Emine Şenyaşar’s sole demand is justice: “It’s clear today, once again, that those who killed the Şenyaşar family not only are evading punishment but are rewarded. They have been made legislators, their backs are patted, they are protected, and new lawsuits are filed against Emine every day. We, as democratic associations and unions, demand justice for the Şenyaşar family.”
Şenyaşar has faced 31 investigations since she began a sit-in in March 2021 in front of the courthouse to seek justice for her loved ones, 10 of which later turned into prosecutions.
The first hearing in her trial is scheduled for October 31, 2024.
In June 2018 her husband, Esvet Şenyaşar, and two of their sons, Adil and Celal, were brutally murdered in Şanlıurfa by the family of AKP deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız.
The three were initially attacked in their store and taken to a hospital. However, they were followed by Yıldız’s family to the hospital, where they were ultimately murdered. Eight more people were injured during fights between the two groups. An older brother of Yıldız was also killed.
According to her son Ferit Şenyaşar, who survived the incident, bullets from 17 different guns were retrieved from the body of one of his brothers.
Two Şenyaşar brothers, Ferit and Fadıl, who were injured but survived, were later detained, and Fadıl Şenyaşar was arrested. However, none of Yıldız’s relatives or his bodyguards were detained even though three people had died.
Only 15 months later, on September 18, 2020, was Yıldız’s older brother Enver Yıldız arrested.
