The decade-long investigation into the Hayata Dönüş (Back to Life) operation was completed yesterday with the Bakırköy 12th High Criminal Court accepting the indictment into the incidents that left 12 inmates dead and 29 others seriously injured at the İstanbul Bayrampaşa Prison. The prosecutors say only the 39 privates who were sent to subdue the riot were responsible for the deaths. The prosecution demands 41 consecutive life sentences for the 39 men on charges of “murder with intent” and “attempted murder.”The prosecutors also say the Ankara Gendarmerie Command Special Security Command was in charge of the operation to quell the riot, but the gendarmerie refuses to release the number and names of personnel on duty that day. The prosecution also said that the command, in an official response to the prosecutors’ query, said, “No information or document has been found regarding those who participated in the operation.” The response was received on March 24, 2006. The indictment also says that the İstanbul Governor’s Office denied permission to investigate the incidents three times, forcing the prosecutors to apply to an administrative court, which issued a probe warrant on Sept. 12, 2006, overruling the governor’s office.
The indictment notes that the operation lasted 16 hours, during which some of the inmates were died due to long-range shots, internal hemorrhaging, being burned alive in the flames of a fire that erupted during the events and smoke inhalation. The draft was created by Eyüp Prosecutor Ali İhsan Demirel, and the final indictment was completed by Bakırköy Prosecutor Raif Bıkmaz.
However, the prosecutor also recalled Article 24 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) in the indictment. This article states that those who fulfill orders from authorized officials cannot be held responsible for the consequences of their actions.
The ages of the defendants, who were doing their compulsory military service at the time, ranged between 20 and 22. The defendants are Cemil Korkmaz, Bayram Mavi, Mete Koçtürk, Hasan Köse, Musa Tarhan, Yakup Yağcı, Eren Odabaşı, Nevzat Kara, Barış Suluyer, Mustafa Ece, Asım Bulut, Halil Akgün, Hilmi Çolak, Lütfi Kozan, Osman Aydemir, Önder Seymenoğlu, Murat Yılmaz, Mehmet Çöllü, Tuncay Bilgili, Hayrettin Çiftçi, İbrahim Başer, Mehmet Kaya, Ramazan Şener, Abdullah Pala, Mustafa Korkmaz, Mustafa Ustan, Tuncay Köken, Orhan Durgut, Durmuş Özkara, Sultan Dal, Oktay Sinoplu, Erkan Çelik, Vedat Ceylan, İbrahim Üstün, Serhan Karaçuha, Bilal Akşit, Türker Geçdoğan, Yusuf Aktepe and Serkan Aslan.
