Eye witness: Soldiers deliberately targeted Demir

Eye witness: Soldiers deliberately targeted Demir

ANF - URFA18.10.2014 12:30:12

Party of Democratic Regions (DBP) Executive Committee member Semra Demir was hit on the head by a gas canister during an attack by soldiers on people holding a vigil in the Suruç district of Urfa on 15 October.

 It has been claimed that Demir was intentionally targeted by the soldiers. This claim has been verified by the testimonies of eye witnesses. Rüknettin Fiutoğlu, who witnessed the incident, said: “They directly attacked our car, firing dozens of gas canisters. Breaking the window, one hit Semra on the head”.  

Demir is receiving treatment in the Mehmet Akif İnan Hospital’s intensive care unit. It has been reported that she remains in critical condition. Medication is being used to try to stop internal bleeding caused by the gas canister striking her.

On the day of the attack, her car was stopped by soldiers, who said to her: “You are organising the actions here”. After this threat by soldiers, her being hit on the head in the evening hours raised suspicions that she was deliberately targeted by the soldiers. The testimony of the only person who was together with Demir during the incident verifies this claim.

The eye witness of the incident, Rükneddin Fiutoğlu, said that their car was stopped by the soldiers at around 14:00 on the day of the incident in the centre of Suruç and that the soldiers said in a threating way: “Your licence plate is being followed-up, there are complaints about you. How long have you been here? You are organising these vigil actions”. Fiutoğlu said that they told the police “We are carrying out ordinary party work here. We are not doing anything here that is not legal”, adding that their car had been thoroughly searched by the soldiers before they were allowed to leave.

Fiutoğlu said they had learned that there would be an intervention by the soldiers in the village of Mehser when they were staying at another village, Miseynter. Fuitoglu added that they immediately departed for Mehser by car and continued: “When we arrived at Mehser, the talks between the deputies and the soldiers had already ended. We got back in the car in order to remove it from the road shortly before the intervention started. When we were in the car the attack with gas bombs on the village started. They directly attacked our car, firing dozens of gas canisters. One of the gas canisters broke the window and hit Semra on the head. It is obvious that we were targeted. We took Semra out of the car immediately, helped by the people around and took her to Suruç”.