Police were missing during Suruç explosion

2015-07-24 09:55:26

URFA (DİHA) - Police, present at all demonstrations in Suruç, were missing on the day of the Suruç explosion, according to an investigation at the scene by the Human Rights Association.

Turkey's Human Rights Association has released an observational report on the Suruç massacre. The report is based on observations on-site and in local hospitals, as well as interviews with eyewitnesses. According to the organization's Urfa province branch (Suruç is located in Urfa province), it took bomb experts three hours and a crime scene investigation team four hours to arrive at the scene.

32 died and 104 were wounded in the attack, with around 50 treated as outpatients, 46 treated in hospitals in the province of Urfa and eight in neighboring provinces.

Eyewitnesses reported that all the members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) had arrived at the Amara Culture Center at 6:30 a.m. Three buses had come from Istanbul, one from Amed (Diyarbakır) and Van, one bus from Eskişehir and one from Izmir. In addition, individuals, lawers and parliamentary representatives had also come of their own accord. "We were around 250 to 300 people," said a SGDF member.

"When the press conference with 300 people was ending, 20 of our representatives were about to go into our culture center to meet with the district governor when we were shaken by a violent explosion. The explosion took place at 11:45," said one eyewitness.

Then, police arrived at the scene of the explosion and began using tear gas on the crowd, reported the witness. As the crowd tried to stop passing cars to get the wounded to the hospital, a car resembling a Fiat Doblo stopped and opened fire into the air, then drove away.

According to the report, made at 6:30 p.m., when the crime scene investigation team and experts had finished their work, they set out towards the Antep Forensic Medical Institute with the bodies. The crowd, who wanted the bodies to be taken to the forensic medical institute in the city of Urfa instead, protested. Police then attacked them.

Immediately after the explosion, the Urfa governor forbade any demonstrations, press conference and other democratic rights, creating a sense of tension in the crowd. There was discomfort that the officials had issued a ban on democratic demonstrations, but not taken security measures. The report also noted that police, who are always present at press conferences, were not present during this event.

When the ID card of a man named Şeyh Abdurrahman Alagöz (born in 1995 in the province of Adıyaman) was found at the scene and shown to security officers, the security officers replied that the individual was a Daesh member and that they had not heard from him for six months. The individual is now thought to be the bomber.

(cm/nt)