The 25th hearing of the Çorlu Train Massacre in Tekirdağ Çorlu, in which 328 people lost their lives and 19 people were injured, was held today at the Çorlu 1st High Criminal Court. A decision was expected at the hearing, but the hearing was postponed within a few minutes to April 25. The reason for the postponement was that the member judge was on leave. Families reacted by booing the court panel and stated that justice had not been served for 6 years.
Before the hearing, those who lost their relatives in the massacre marched in front of the hall where the hearing would be held. Families met in front of Santral Station at 09.00 and walked to the Public Education Center. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Labor Party Chairman Seyit Aslan and Turkish Labor Party Deputy Sera Kadıgil also attended the march. A press release was read in front of the Public Education Center.
'JUSTICE WILL REMAIN UNDER THE RAILS UNLESS THE REAL RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE ARE TRIED'
Zeliha Bilgin, mother of Bihter Bilgin, who lost her life in the disaster, read the press release on behalf of the families. Bilgin started his speech by thanking the families for not leaving them alone on such an important day and said, “There is only one thing we understand from this case: There is no real justice in this country. Everyone, including families and lawyers, even defendant lawyers, pointed to the upper level. We have been talking about TCDD's shortcomings for five and a half years, from the road guard to the canceled road maintenance tenders, its staff, manager and chief who are unaware of the infrastructure. "Despite all the evidence, we could not reach the top level," he said. Stating that the only thing that is true in this case is that this case cannot be closed without the senior executives being tried, Bilgin said, “The confession presented by the defendant's lawyers in the last hearing should have been accepted as a confession and the hearing should have been ended with possible intent. Senior officials should have been immediately involved in the case. "As long as those who are truly responsible are not tried, justice will not be served, it will not come out from under the rails, and it will continue to be crushed under political power," he said.
'POSSIBLE INTENTION, NOT CONSCIOUS NEGLIGENCE'
Reminding that the then regional manager Veysi Kurt was appointed to the TCDD Directorate again four days ago, Oğuz Arda Sel's mother, Mısra Öz, said: “It is the government of this country, the President, who did this. It is the prosecutors and judges in these palaces of justice who cannot bring this to the courtrooms. Today, while TCDD managers and bureaucrats were not questioned even once, they had to be punished before us in this case. "We couldn't see this," he said. Stating that they have increased the number of defendants from 6 to 4 with their efforts for 13 years and that these defendants are also guilty, Öz said that they should be punished with possible intent, not conscious negligence, and that the defendants should be sent to prison, not their homes, after the hearing today.
'REAL PERPETRATORS ARE PROTECTED'
Before the case, which has been going on for more than five years, Mısra Öz, who lost her son Oğuz Arda Sel and her father Hakan Sel in the accident, and Deniz Özen, one of the lawyers of the case, spoke to Evrensel before today's hearing.
Stating that they, as families and lawyers, are seeking justice in the case that has been going on for 5 years, Deniz Özen emphasized that only the lowest-level responsible defendants are included in the file, while the real perpetrators are hidden. Emphasizing that no matter what decision is made at the end of the case, there has been an incomplete trial from the beginning, Özen said, “The real responsible are not the defendants in the file, but everyone who has made TCDD no longer a public institution. "This is an incomplete case unless the political representatives of the AKP, the architect of these privatization policies, are prosecuted," said the Minister of Transport at the time.
Reminding that the defendants were asked for punishment for the crime of causing death and injury through conscious negligence, Özen said, “The difference between possible intent and conscious negligence crimes is whether an intervention was made to prevent the outcome despite foreseeing it. We claim that this situation is possible intent, and we insist on it. This accident was not an accident that could not be prevented, it came with the collapse of TCDD. It is clear that this situation was foreseen in the internal correspondence of the defendants. But they said 'No matter what'," he said. Özen reiterated that regardless of the decision, the trial was inadequate and incomplete.
Mısra Öz, who stated that after five and a half years of long hearings, has now come to the decision hearing, said: “In the opinion of me and the lawyers, there is an incomplete trial in this case. While all the evidence and reports point to TCDD, let alone coming to the case as a defendant, they were not even questioned. "We requested that they be heard at least as witnesses at the last hearing, but it was not accepted," he said. Underlining that they will take this case to the Constitutional Court and the ECHR if necessary, Öz reminded that the dismissed TCDD Regional Director at the time, Veysi Kurt, was appointed as the general manager.
Saying that this means that the policy of impunity brings positions as a reward, Öz said, "We are pursuing our cause to end this policy of impunity, we are not giving up." Stating that it is not acceptable to punish those responsible among the current defendants for negligence and for these people to go home freely, Öz said: “These people were not tried in detention, were not punished, or were not suspended from work. They still go to TCDD, work and return home. "Imagine such an absurdity that the defendants had free access to all evidence throughout the trial process," he said. Stating that they will not accept any decision other than the arrest of the defendants for possible intent, Öz said, “For the safety of the citizens, we expect a punishment for possible intent to prevent the irresponsibility of the TCDD management from being rewarded. "Maybe it comes across a conscience, someone wants to defend the rule of law and punishes with possible intent," he repeated his demand for justice. (Source: Evrensel)