AMED — The family of Rozerin Çukur, a 17-year-old girl killed during the curfews imposed in Amed’s Sur district, has denounced the Turkish Constitutional Court’s (AYM) ruling that her “right to life was not violated.” The family stated, “We could not find justice at the Constitutional Court either.”

 

Rozerin Çukur was killed on January 8, 2016, during the military curfews in Sur. Her body was returned to her family five months later. Prosecutors closed the investigation with a “no grounds for prosecution” decision, citing allegations that Rozerin was a "terrorist organization member" and all objections were rejected. 

 

Her family then filed an application to the Constitutional Court on November 18, 2020, through the Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed (Diyarbakır) Branch, citing a violation of the right to life. The AYM rejected the claim, ruling that her right to life had not been violated and that she was allegedly affiliated with an armed group.

 

Her father Mustafa Çukur and mother Fahriye Çukur condemned the ruling.

 

'ROZERIN WAS IN SCHOOL WEEKS BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED'

 

Mustafa Çukur recalled that Rozerin was still attending public school shortly before the conflict escalated. “We pulled Rozerin out of school about 20 days before the clashes began, because it wasn’t safe. Nowhere in Amed was safe. But she continued going to tutoring classes. This decision by the Constitutional Court is a political one. They couldn’t prove she was armed. When the court asked for evidence, the Interior Ministry presented radio communications and documents where her name was mentioned. How can you link this to armed resistance? We’ve taken the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). We hope it delivers a fair and impartial judgment,” he said.

 

Highlighting the ongoing policy of impunity, Çukur stated that many similar cases have ended without punishment for perpetrators. Referring to Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace and a democratic society on February 27, he said the new process should also address and debate the widespread culture of impunity.

 

'SHE WAS KILLED AS A CIVILIAN'

 

Rozerin’s mother Fahriye Çukur stressed that her daughter was a civilian and a student at the time of her death: “When she was killed, she was wearing her school uniform. She entered Sur with only her pen, paper, and notebook—and her body came out. She loved school and was a successful student,” she said.

 

Reacting to the AYM’s claim that Rozerin was armed and involved in fighting, Fahriye Çukur said: “If there had been evidence, it would’ve been presented. But there was none. She was killed by a single bullet. I’ve kept the photo taken at the time, she was in uniform. My daughter was not a militant. She had no weapon. The state is trying to justify itself by making baseless claims. I want the ECtHR to rule on this case swiftly. I want my daughter’s killers identified. We’ve been seeking justice for 10 years, and we still haven’t found it, not even at the Constitutional Court. I hope we’ll find it at the ECtHR. If justice existed, her case wouldn’t have been repeatedly rejected for the past decade.”

 

MA / Rukiye Payiz Adıguzel