He is forever 17... Erdal Eren commemorated on the 44th anniversary of his execution

Erdal Eren, who was executed on December 13, 1980, following the September 12 coup after his age was legally increased because he was still only 17, is being commemorated on the 44th anniversary of his death. 

Born on September 25, 1964, in the Şebinkarahisar district of Giresun, 17-year-old Erdal Eren became a victim of the September 12 junta. A student at the Ankara Construction Vocational High School, Eren was a member of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Association (YDGD).

METU student Sinan Suner was killed on the evening of January 30, 1980, in the Yukarı Ayrancı neighborhood of Ankara by Süleyman Ezendemir, a bodyguard for the then-MHP minister Cengiz Gökçek, while writing slogans on a wall. Following the news of the incident, METU students organized a protest on February 2, 1980, on Hoşdere Street in Ayrancı, where Sinan Suner had been killed. Junta soldiers intervened in the protest, and Private Zekeriya Önge was killed in the ensuing clash. Erdal Eren was taken into custody, accused of shooting Private Önge, and was later placed in the Mamak Military Prison.

KENAN EVREN HAD SAID 'SHOULD WE FEED HIM INSTEAD OF HANGING HIM?'

Erdal Eren was sentenced to death on March 19, 1980.

In accordance with Kenan Evren's instruction, "Should we feed him instead of hanging him?", Eren was executed on December 13, 1980, at the Ankara Ulucanlar Prison.