2021 Konya massacre

Last updated
2021 Konya massacre
Location Meram, Konya Province, Turkey
Date30 July 2021
TargetKurdish family
Attack type
mass shooting
Deaths7
Injured0

The Konya massacre refers to the murder of seven members of a Kurdish family in the Meram district of Konya Province, Turkey, on 30 July 2021. The house where the family was living was set on fire.

Contents

Background

The family moved to Konya from Kars Province [1] and had lived for twenty-four years in Meram, Konya. [2] [3] The family was threatened before and attacked in front of their home in May 2021. [4] In the attack in May, several family members needed medical assistance, one man received a wound on the head which required twenty stitches, another member of the family was stabbed, and a woman's arm was broken. [5] According to an interview given by members of the family to Duvar, the attackers where close to the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and threatened not to permit Kurds to live in the neighborhood. [5] Several people were apprehended following the attack, but the judge ruled for their release. [6] [7]

Massacre

On 30 July 2021, a man entered the premises of the property of the Dedeoğulları family, then first spoke to them and later shot them. [1] [2] Video surveillance shows the murderer attempting to set the house ablaze, [6] getting into his car and driving away afterwards. [2] Four of the victims were women, three men. [3]

Investigation

The investigation centered on Mehmet Altun as the murderer, [2] who was apprehended on 4 August 2021. [8] The same day, ten of the fourteen detained members of Altuns family were arrested. [8] Four others were released but prohibited to travel abroad. [8] According to Bianet Mehmet Altun has admitted to have killed the family members. He has also admitted to have attempted to set the house ablaze, in order to erase the recordings of the security camera. [4] Twenty-one bullets were found in the bodies of the family. Six members of the family died of shots in the head while one died of a bullet in the neck. [9] Against a journalist reporting on the murders for JinNews, an investigation was initiated due to her social media posts. [10] [11]

Reactions

There are different perceptions of the murders. While the Turkish Government states there was no racism involved, pro-Kurdish politicians and also the Kurdish media speak of a racist attack. [12] The Turkish Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu and other Turkish officials denied an ethnic motive behind the murders and blamed it on a decade old feud between two families. [13] They stated such accusation were a "provocation to the country's unity". [14] [15] Mithat Sancar of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) accused the Government led by the Justice and Development Party for creating the environment for such racist attacks. [13] [14] [15] An angered member of a Kurdish-Islamic organization known as "Kurdistan Islamic Society" released a statement heavily condemning the murder. [16]

A journalist of the Mezapotamya Agency who was covering the massacre, was accused of writing a "pro-terrorist story" by a Konya-based newspaper. [17] Coalition for Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) condemned the targeting of the journalist, also stating it is a pro-government newspaper outlet. [18]

Related Research Articles

Kurds have had a long history of discrimination perpetrated against them by the Turkish government. Massacres have periodically occurred against the Kurds since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Among the most significant is the massacre that happened during the Dersim massacre, when 40,000-70,000 civilians were killed by the Turkish Army and 11,818 people were sent into exile. According to McDowall, 40,000 people were killed. The Zilan massacre of 1930 was a massacre of Kurdish residents of Turkey during the Ararat rebellion, in which 5,000 to 47,000 were killed.

The Maraş massacre was the massacre of more than one hundred leftists and Alevi Kurds in the city of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, in December 1978, primarily by the neo-fascist Grey Wolves.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roboski massacre</span> Airstrike on Kurdish smugglers near the Turkish-Iraqi border

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenophobia and discrimination in Turkey</span>

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The Lice massacre took place from 20 to 23 October 1993 in the Kurdish town of Lice, Turkey in the Diyarbakır Province of Southeastern Anatolia Region. The Turkish Armed Forces killed at least 30 civilians.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Video von rassistischem Angriff in Konya aufgetaucht". Firat News Agency (in German). Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Konya massacre: 'Turkey must confront racist hatred'". Bianet . 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Angriff auf kurdische Familie in Konya: Sieben Tote - UPDATE". Firat News Agency (in German). 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  4. 1 2 Tuncel, Ruken (6 August 2021). "Konya massacre: The assailant might have been acting on behalf of other people, says attorney". Bianet . Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Turkish ultranationalists attack Kurdish neighbors in Turkey's Konya". Gazete Duvar . 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  6. 1 2 Burç, Rosa (6 August 2021). "Wie die Waldbrände in der Türkei antikurdischen Rassismus befeuern". Die Zeit . Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  7. ↑ "Seven Kurds killed in 'racist' attack in Turkey". The Guardian . 2021-07-30. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  8. 1 2 3 "Racist attack in Konya: Murder suspect caught 6 days later". Bianet . 4 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Massacre in Konya: Murder suspect Altun arrested". Bianet . 6 August 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Investigation against journalist who covered massacre of Kurdish family in Konya". Bianet . 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 309 - Expression Interrupted". www.expressioninterrupted.com. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  12. ↑ "Warum die 7 Toten in Konya? Rassismus gegen Kurden oder Familienstreit". euronews (in German). 2021-07-31. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  13. 1 2 "Turkish officials deny ethnic motive in murder of seven Kurds". Al Jazeera . Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  14. 1 2 "10 Arrested in Turkey in Deaths of 7 from Kurdish Family". Voice of America . 31 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  15. 1 2 "7 Kurds slain in Turkey; officials deny ethnic motive". Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  16. ↑ "CİK: Mazlum ve imanlı Kürtlerin yanında safa durma zamanı". ANF News.
  17. ↑ "Journalist covering murder of Kurdish family targeted by Turkish newspaper". www.rudaw.net. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  18. ↑ "Turkey: Journalist Berna Kişin deliberately targeted by a pro-government media outlet, CFWIJ condemn". The Coalition For Women In Journalism. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2021-08-28.

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