Call from families for the Saraçhane detainees! 'Let's be a voice for Silivri on May 30'

The Parent Solidarity Network, established by the families of young people arrested following protests that began after the cancellation of the diploma of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor and CHP Presidential Candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and the March 19 operation, held a press conference yesterday for the youth who remain in detention.

During the press conference held at the Eğitim Sen İstanbul Branch No. 3 meeting hall, a call for support was made for the detained youth who will appear before the judge on May 30, stating: "Our children, who are trying to create a future for themselves, have been behind bars for weeks. We want justice for our children, for our country. We call on everyone to be a voice for our children's voices in Silivri on May 30 for their freedom."

Candan Doğan, Emine Çepniler, and Tülay Yıldız, who attended the press conference, described the process that began with the detentions and the current situation of their children.

DOĞAN: IN A VERY BAD PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE

Candan Doğan, the mother of Toprak Doğan (19), who has been detained for 66 days, said she last saw her son on May 19 and stated, "He is currently in a very bad psychological state. He said, 'I am hopeful, Mom, I didn't do anything, I hope to be released at the hearing.'"

Stating that her son wanted to be an aircraft technician and was preparing for the university entrance exam but will not be able to take it this year due to his arrest, Doğan said, "He couldn't study for the university exam after he went inside. We sent books, but he couldn't do it. This is a very normal thing; he was in a state of poor mental health. That's why he stopped preparing for the exam. Actually, he was preparing very well, his scores were very good. But we experienced something like this, and this is our current state."

Doğan said, "I want the children to be reunited with their families as soon as possible. It has been a very long process; they have been detained for 66 days. Let them hand the children over to us as soon as possible."

"THEY ARE RIGHT, THEY CANNOT UNDERSTAND"

Emine Çepniler, the mother of Yiğitcan Çepniler (22), a 4th-year student at Marmara University's Department of Econometrics, said regarding the accusations against her son, "At first, there was a charge of resisting the police. The police dropped this, saying there was no such thing. But how did the (accusation of) insulting the president come about, how were they accused... They haven't been in the footage or audio recordings for months, they just aren't there." Stating that she last saw her son during an open visit on May 19, she said:

"I am speaking for all the children; they all have this mindset: 'We will be released on May 30.' But if they are not released on May 30, I cannot imagine their situation after that. The children want to get out. They are right, they cannot understand. We families will also have to manage the process outside of this; their mental health, our mental health, we are all in a very bad state. It is torture, it is suffering."

"THE YOUTH HOLD PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE"

Tülay Yıldız, the mother of Burak Yıldız (18) and the older sister of Mahsuni Kahraman (19), described her experience: "My son and my brother were taken from their homes by the Counter-Terrorism unit in a night raid on the night of March 24. I came face to face with the police for the first time; normally I don't know the door of a police station, I have never been to one. To be honest, it was a huge trauma for me. Especially the arrival of the Counter-Terrorism (team) was an additional trauma for me... The officers who came to the house told me, 'It will be a detention of 2-3 days at most, don't worry, there is nothing to fear.' I had to hire a private lawyer for 4 days just to get news about my child and my brother, to find out what their fate was, whether they were subjected to any torture. My child and my brother were not subjected to any beating or torture, but they were subjected to psychological torture. They were not allowed to go to the toilet, they were given 25-centiliters of water twice a day, and they were given rotten sandwiches. This is what he told me. They experienced these things during the Vatan Security process."

Describing the process of her son and brother's detention, Yıldız said, "Our children are clean, innocent children. The youth hold promise for the future. That is not their place. If there is law in this country, it will find its place. With a fair judicial system, everything will fall into place." Yıldız explained the impact of the process on her son's future plans as follows:

"I used to say, 'Let's send you abroad somehow, save your future,' and my son would say, 'What business do I have abroad?' Now, he says, 'I don't want to stay in this country.' He is currently studying English like crazy, his older brothers are teaching him English. He says, 'I can't see my future, I want to go abroad, I will go somehow.'"