Family of 21-year-old shot dead by police demand justice two years on

The mother of Alican Razı, 21, who was shot dead by a police officer after violating an order to halt in 2020, said authorities had still not started the judicial process and demanded justice for her son.

According to Deutsche Welle Turkish service (DW), the prosecutor’s office has still not prepared an indictment. The Ankara Governor’s Office has not allowed an investigation into the incident, saying the officer’s conduct was in compliance with the law.

Razı’s family said they were frustrated that nobody had even been questioned in the two years since their son had died. “My son was murdered,” said Razı’s mother. “They said it was an accident, but he was murdered. I want the perpetrators to be held accountable!”

Razı was shot to death on May 25, 2020 after dropping his girlfriend off at her home. COVID-19 measures were in effect at the time, and Razı had violated a curfew. A group of gendarmes who were controlling traffic ordered him to stop, but Razi was driving without a license and did not want to get into trouble.

The young man did not stop for the gendarmes, and a short while later he was chased by the police. The police opened fire and Razi’s car stopped only after hitting a gate.

The governor’s office tried to cover up the cause of death, saying it was due to the crash, but the autopsy revealed he had been shot in the back of the head.

The prosecutor’s office said there were no grounds for legal action and argued that the bullet had ricocheted off the ground.

The family’s lawyer, Nihat Can Koçak, criticized the authorities, saying the perpetrators should have been questioned in the last two years. He argued that the police officers had been granted impunity by the judiciary.

“It is clear that authorities did not even take the initial investigations seriously. First they said it was a traffic accident, and then the autopsy revealed the victim had been shot,” Koçak said. “Two years have passed, but there’s no sign of an indictment, no thorough investigation, which only goes to show that the police officers who were involved are being protected.”