ISTANBUL - The Saturday Mothers emphasized that in the 841th week of their protests, on Mother's Day, empathized that the state ignored and marginalized the killed and disappeared mothers, and reiterated that they would not stop demanding justice for the disappeared.

 

Saturday Mothers/People carried out the 841th of their weekly actions with the slogan "The perpetrators are known, where are the disappeared" through social media accounts due to the pandemic. Justice was sought for two cousins Halil and Kasım Aksoy, who were disappeared in custody this week on May 12 and 18, 1994.

 

‘We will continue to search throughout our lives’

 

Fikriye Alpsoy, the wife of Halil Alpsoy's first word in the action, touched on their struggle for justice, saying: "There is no place left that we haven't looked for". Stating that all the doors they went to were closing in their faces, Fikriye said: "I will not give up as long as I live and have a drop of blood left." Erdogan Alpsoy, the wife of Kasım Alpsoy, pointed out that Galatarasay Square was forbidden and said: "They do not say that they gave up, they do not ask about the fate, they forgot. We will continue to search for our life." Attorney Tugay Bek, who followed the case, noted that the investigation was out of time and all applications resulted in non-prosecution.

 

‘We will not give up’

 

Reading the press text, Çiğdem Demirbilek called out to the judicial authorities in the 841th week to ensure justice. Calling for action to be taken in the file of Kasım Alpsoy and Halil Alpsoy, Çiğdem underlined that they will not give up neither asking the fate of the disappeared nor giving up Galatasaray Square, which has been banned for 142 weeks.

 

What happened?

 

Halil Alpsoy, 37-year-old, was detained on the night of May 12, 1994, by the police waiting in front of the house, while returning to his home in Kanarya, İstanbul, with his wife and 40-day-old baby. When his wife protested and shouted, the police showed their identity and said: "Don't worry. We are taking him to the police station. He will come in half an hour." Halil Alpsoy, who was taken to the White Toros vehicle on the night of May 12, 1994, could not return home. 18 days after his detention, he was found unrecognizable due to severe torture in a forested area in Kırıkkale, 530 km from Istanbul. He was able to identify his siblings Halil Alpsoy from his childhood trace.

 

He never left the building he entered

 

One week after Halil Alpsoy's detention, the police also raided the house of his uncle's son, Kasım Alpsoy's, in Adana. Police with steel vests carrying long-range weapons also detained 30-year-old Kasım Alpsoy in the morning on May 18, 1994. Taken to the Seyhan District Gendarmerie Command, Kasım was being questipned by a team including intelligence officers. On the evening of his detention, Kasım Alpsoy was released and his identity was confiscated, it was said: "Come tomorrow. Get your identity card." Kasım Alpsoy, who was heavily tortured, told his wife that when he was detained in Istanbul before, the team that questioned him came to Adana and participated in the torture there. The next day, Kasım went to the Seyhan District Gendarmerie Command with a relative to get his identity card, and although his relative waited at the door all day, he could not leave the building he entered.

 

Relatives denied access to truth and justice

 

Until today, the detention of Kasım and Halil Alpsoy has always been denied. The state and its relevant agencies never fulfilled their duty to conduct an effective research or investigation into the prosecution of the detained two cousins, those who interrogated them with torture, and those who disappeared. On the contrary, they were covered by providing protection against disappearances in custody, and their relatives were denied access to truth and justice.