URFA - It was revealed that the statement of the Urfa Government stating that the place where Aksem was killed was used as a training ground for the law enforcement was a lie and that the area was used illegally by the police.

 

Muharrem Aksem(16) was found dead in the Eyyübiye district of Urfa, in the area where special operations police were conducting target practice on March 24. In a written statement two days later regarding Aksem's death, the Urfa Governor's Office claimed that the area which has no signs to warn the locals that it was used as a training ground for shooting, was used as a 'official shooting and training ground'. It has been learned that the parcel numbered 315, which the governorship calls the "official shooting and training place", was allocated to the Security Directorate by the Housing Commission of the Urfa Metropolitan Municipality Council on February 17, but while the decision was pending, the decision was sent to the council again as a result of the objections of the neighborhood headman and the residents.

 

After Aksem passed away, the residents of the neighborhood, who spoke to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA), stated that the police had been using the area as a target practice area since 2019, before the decision was made. They noted that between 2019 and Aksem's death, dozens of times, the neighborhood headman and the residents of the neighborhood petitioned the police and the municipality not to use the area, their petitions were not responded to. After the area was allocated to the Security Directorate by the decision of the city council on February 17, the neighborhood headman objected while the decision was pending. The headman of the neighborhood petitioned the municipality to close the area for the use of the police, one day after Muharrem Aksem's death on March 24. At the time of Aksem's death, the decision was still pending.

 

OBJECTION WAS PROCESSED LATER 

 

Evaluating the objection petition submitted by the neighborhood headman after Aksem passed away, the Municipality's Housing and Public Works Commission prepared a motion by including the objection among the council's agenda in April. Reminding that in the proposal, under the name of "Master Development Plan" belonging to the Ministery of Housing and Public Works, it was decided to use the area as the municipality's "Official institution area" (Security service area) on February 17. In order to evaluate the objections made at the parliamentary council meeting on April 13, it  was requested that the decision be included in the agenda of the meeting in May. The objections in question were put to vote after being discussed in the council meetings held by the municipality in May.

 

AKP MEMBER: WE SHOULD ALLOCATE THE AREA TO SECURITY DIRECTORATE

 

 

Cihan Canbeyli, Member of Parliament from AKP, who spoke about the proposal, said about the area that the residents of the locals living in the neighborhood don't want a shooting range in their neighorhood and added: “The main purpose why we allocated this area to the law enforcement is that the Security Directorate was moved to the area. Especially the riot police but because the procedure is not finalised they can not wire fence the area. However the law enforcement officers are already using this area as a shooting range. We thought that we could allocate the area to them so that they can fire fence the area."

 

PLAN WAS CANCELLED

 

The members of the municipal council, who voted on the objection in question, saw the objections on the spot and decided to cancel the "Master Plan" regarding the area, with a majority of votes. Only AKP Member of Parliament Cihan Canbeyli abstained from the voting.

 

GOVERNORSHIP GIVES WRONG INFORMATION

 

After 16-year-old Muharrem Aksem was found dead in the area, a statement on the official website was made by the Urfa Governor's Office of the time, in which he stated that the area was used as a shooting range by the police since 2005."

 

MA / Emrullah Acar