Aftermath of the incident. Date: December 23, 2021. Photo: Rudaw
IZMIR, Turkey - Over a month after the death of three Syrian refugees in the Turkish province of Izmir, it was revealed this week that they were burnt to death by a nationalist Turk.
On November 16, the families of three Syrian refugees - Ahmed al-Ali, Mohammed al-Bish and Mamoun al-Nabhan aged 21, 17 and 23 respectively - received the tragic news of their death in Izmir province’s Guzelbahce district..
However, the truth about the story surfaced on December 21.
Hussein al-Ali, brother of Ahmed, told Rudaw on Thursday that a Syrian man informed them of the crime. “Life is very hard here. We are almost dead. I call on the government and relevant institutions to take our rights.”
Ahmed al-Bish, brother of Mohammed, called on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), government and international organisations to prevent racial attacks.
“We first call on the [ruling] AKP, the interior and foreign ministries as well as the migration and human rights institutions and the United Nations to intervene to prevent similar incidents in the future. Unfortunately, such incidents are carried out by nationalists,” he said.
“We want the government to bring justice, give the perpetrator the heaviest punishment and prevent racism. We all - Turks, Syrians, Iraqi and Jordanians - are Muslims,” said Ahmed al-Nabhan, brother of Mamoun.
Ten days after the incident, the suspected murderer, Kemal K., was arrested for stabbing two Turkish citizens. He confessed to have burnt the three Syrians.
The Human Rights Association (IHD) as well as 13 human rights and refugees organisations said in a joint statement that the incident was racially motivated, blaming the Turkish authorities for hiding the incident from the public and the families of the victims.
After this, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Izmir launched an investigation.
“We believe that the authorities and firefighting teams have shortcomings when investigating the incident. Therefore, the killer has admitted to have burnt the refugees in a planned and violent way. We are in the first stage of the case now. With the passage of time, those behind the incident will be revealed. We have already noticed that many people were involved in the incident,” Zafer Ince, Head of IHD’s office in Izmir, told Rudaw.
Reporting by Omer Sonmez
On November 16, the families of three Syrian refugees - Ahmed al-Ali, Mohammed al-Bish and Mamoun al-Nabhan aged 21, 17 and 23 respectively - received the tragic news of their death in Izmir province’s Guzelbahce district..
However, the truth about the story surfaced on December 21.
Hussein al-Ali, brother of Ahmed, told Rudaw on Thursday that a Syrian man informed them of the crime. “Life is very hard here. We are almost dead. I call on the government and relevant institutions to take our rights.”
Ahmed al-Bish, brother of Mohammed, called on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), government and international organisations to prevent racial attacks.
“We first call on the [ruling] AKP, the interior and foreign ministries as well as the migration and human rights institutions and the United Nations to intervene to prevent similar incidents in the future. Unfortunately, such incidents are carried out by nationalists,” he said.
“We want the government to bring justice, give the perpetrator the heaviest punishment and prevent racism. We all - Turks, Syrians, Iraqi and Jordanians - are Muslims,” said Ahmed al-Nabhan, brother of Mamoun.
Ten days after the incident, the suspected murderer, Kemal K., was arrested for stabbing two Turkish citizens. He confessed to have burnt the three Syrians.
The Human Rights Association (IHD) as well as 13 human rights and refugees organisations said in a joint statement that the incident was racially motivated, blaming the Turkish authorities for hiding the incident from the public and the families of the victims.
After this, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Izmir launched an investigation.
“We believe that the authorities and firefighting teams have shortcomings when investigating the incident. Therefore, the killer has admitted to have burnt the refugees in a planned and violent way. We are in the first stage of the case now. With the passage of time, those behind the incident will be revealed. We have already noticed that many people were involved in the incident,” Zafer Ince, Head of IHD’s office in Izmir, told Rudaw.
Reporting by Omer Sonmez
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