30 June 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
The murder trial of a Nigerian man who was shot dead by a police officer while in custody at Beyoğlu Police Station in İstanbul in 2007 has been adjourned due to a lack of personal identity documents for the victim.
The murder trial of Festus Okey is being held at the Beyoğlu 4th High Criminal Court but was adjourned yesterday because Okey’s identity documents, which had been requested by the Turkish Justice Ministry from Nigeria, have not yet been forwarded to the court.Yesterday’s hearing was attended by police officer C.Y., Okey’s alleged killer, as well as representatives of various nongovernmental organizations. A civilian organization called the Immigrant Solidarity Network issued a press release outside the courthouse before the start of the hearing. Speaking on behalf of the group, Ufuk Ahıska complained that the court was still waiting for Okey’s identity documents from Nigeria despite the passage of two years since the incident. He explained that Okey had an identity card on him issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) when he was killed.
Ahıska said it was an unacceptable for refugees who had committed no offense other than crossing the border of a country to be subjected to discrimination and be deprived of their fundamental rights.
