As a first decision on the "1938 Dersim Incidents", the
Hoza Prosecution decided to drop procedures because "the crime of
genocide was not constituted" and the case "fell under the statute of
limitation". Lawyer Agyün: "We will appeal and go until the ECHR if
necessary".
Nilay Vardar
Tunceli - BIA News Center
Efo Bozkurt who lost his whole family in the "1938 Dersim Incidents" applied to court under allegations of "crimes against humanity" last year but his complaint was now dismissed.
86-year-old Bozkurt lost both of his parents and his five siblings in
1938 in the village of Çaytaşı in the Dersim district of Hozat.The so-called "Dersim Massacre" refers to the violent suppression in 1937/38 of the local population of Dersim, now called Tunceli Province (eastern Anatolia). Some sources speak of tens of thousands of Alevi Kurds and Zazas that were killed and thousands more that were forced into exile.
The Hozat Public Chief Prosecution decided to drop procedures on 18 February 2011. It was stated, "The Turkish Criminal Law in effect at the time of the incidents that allegedly happened in Dersim in 1938 did not include 'genocide and crimes against humanity' as imputed by the complainant".
It was furthermore said in the decision that the alleged cases of death were to be evaluated as "homicide" and thus fell under the statute of limitation. (...)
