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Ceylan Önkol (13) was killed by Turkish artillery fire. 28 September 2009

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Democratic Society Party (DTP) Diyarbakır MP Gültan Kışanak demands answers form Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to questions regarding the death of Ceylan Önkol. The 14-year-old girl from the town of Lice in the district of Diyarbakır allegedly died from a mortar shell on 28 September.
However, the Human Rights Association (HRA) voiced their concerns that Önkol might have been killed by being targeted. According to HRA, the likelihood of the 14-year-old being killed by a mine or munitions is low since solely the girl's abdominal region had been torn up while her hands, arms, feet and legs had not been injured. Furthermore, there was no hole in the ground which would have occurred in the case of a mine explosion.

In his motion to the Prime Minister Kışanak reminds the facts that Önkol's body was left at the scene of the incident for 6 hours, that the prosecutor went to the place of the girl's death only 3 days later after he had said before that his life would be in danger at that place, that the forensic report was prepared by a general practitioner and 2 people belonging to the cleaning personnel, and that evidence was not recorded according to the regulations.

The field where Ceylan Önkol died belongs to the village of Şenlik where she lived with her family. Kısanak emphasized that this place in 10 km linear distance to the Yayla Police Station, 12 km to the Abalı Police Station and 3 km to the Tapantepe Battalion is under full control of the military and that no security problems had occurred before. He is asking the following questions to the Prime Minister:

1. Ceylan Önkol died in a place close to 2 police stations and 1 battalion. Does it make sense under these circumstances that the prosecutor did not go to the scene of the incident because of "security" reasons?

2. Did any kind of authority advise the prosecutor not to go there?

3. Who decided for what reasons that the place was not safe?

4. The field where the incident happened is within a few kilometers range of the Tapantepe Battalion where armored vehicles and scanning devices for explosives are located. Could the prosecutor not have gone there and take security precautions for the necessary investigation?

5. Upon the echo of the public opinion the Public Prosecutor went to the place 3 days after the incident happened. Did then not the same circumstances apply to the place than 3 days earlier?

6. Was it not an approach towards leaving the incident in darkness when the public prosecutor did not go to the scene of the incident on the very day Ceylan Önkol died, when the investigation of the scene was not recorded in a protocol, when evidence was not recorded properly?

7. Even though the Diyarbakır province center is equipped with a forensic medicine institute, what was the reason for carrying out the post-mortem examination in the Abalı Police Station Guardhouse by a general practitioner in company with 2 people from the cleaning personnel?

8. Was it not a neglect of duty that Ceylan Önkol's body was left on the scene of the incident for 6 hours, that the prosecutor did not go to the scene of the incident, that the post-mortem examination was done in a police station for a mere fulfillment of the formalities?

9. Has an investigation on the subject been started?

10. Was there any shooting from the Tapantepe Patrol on the day when Ceylan Önkol died? If any shooting occurred, for what reason, in which direction and by whom?

11. In recent days civilians lost their lives in this region. What measures are you going to take in order to prevent those deaths caused by the military targeting residential areas?

"Önkol has probably been targeted"

Moreover, Kışanak brought up the propability that Ökol was targeted to be killed:

"Due to the Forensic Examination Record Ceylan Önkol was not badly injured at her head, her arms and her legs. Whereas when stepping on a mine or another explosive, bad injuries of the legs would eminently occur. If a found explosive sets off because it was monkeyed with, serious injuries of the arms in particular would occur. However, according to the forensic examination record, serious injuries of Ceylan Önkols abdomen caused her death."

"It is possible that an explosive hits the abdominal region. That is to say, the explosive has to be fired from somewhere, targeting Ceylan Önkol".

"Additionally, people from the village stated that Paşaciya field serves as one of the lookouts of the Tapantepe Battlion which is within shooting reach of the battalion. They claim that the explosive that killed Ceylan Önkol was fired from that hill".