Sevag Şahin Balıkçı (April 1, 1986 – April 24, 2011) was a Turkish soldier of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent who was shot to death during compulsory military service. The incident occurred on April 24, 2011, the

remembrance day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. The perpetrator Kıvanç Ağaoglu was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. However, there have been several eye-witness accounts and testimonies that claim that the shooting was not accidental as the official reports suggest, but intentional. Other reports claim that the shooting was a hate crime towards Balıkçı's Armenian identity.

Death

Sevag Balıkçı was killed by a gunshot in Batman, southeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

where he was serving his last 23 days as a conscripted private. Official reports from military commanders in Batman given to the Balıkçı family argued that Sevag was killed unintentionally while "joking around" with his friend. The family believed the initial reports and claimed that their son should not be considered a martyr since he died accidentally. Sevag's fiancée, however, called the report into question because, according to their conversations on the phone with Balıkçı, he was being harassed by ultra-nationalist soldier(s). The funeral was at the Feriköy Surp Vartanants Armenian church. Attendees of the funeral included Rakel Dink (wife of murdered

journalist

Hrant Dink Hrant Dink ( hy, Հրանդ Տինք; Western ; 15 September 1954 – 19 January 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of ''Agos'', journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspa ...

), Government Minister Egemen Bağış,

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şiş ...

Mayor

Mustafa Sarıgül Mustafa Sarıgül (born 15 November 1956) is a Turkish writer, entrepreneur and politician. He is currently the leader of Party for Change in Turkey. He was the mayor of the Şişli district in Istanbul between 1999 and 2014. He is recently embro ...

, top military commanders, and other politicians like

Adalar The Princes' Islands ( tr, Prens Adaları; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", el, Πριγκηπονήσια, ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar ( en, Islands); alternatively the Princes' Arch ...

Mayor Mustafa Farsakoğlu. He was buried in the Şişli Armenian Cemetery.

Trial

According to Balıkçı's lawyer Cem Halavurt, an investigation conducted on May 1, 2011, into the background (including his internet social networks, which were shut down after the incident) of the suspect, Kıvanç Ağaoglu, revealed that he was a Turkish ultra-nationalist. Through his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

profile, it was discovered that he was a sympathizer of nationalist politician

Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu (December 31, 1954 – March 25, 2009) was a Turkish politician and member of the Parliament of Turkey. He was the leader and founder of the Great Union Party (BBP), a right-wing, nationalist-Islamist political party. ...

and Turkish agent / contract killer

Abdullah Çatlı Abdullah Çatlı (1 June 1956 – 3 November 1996) was a Turkish secret government agent, as well as a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He led the Grey Wolves, the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party ...

, who himself had a history of Anti-Armenian activity such as the Armenian Genocide Memorial bombing in a Paris suburb in 1984. His

profile also showed that he was a sympathizerof the

Great Union Party The Great Unity Party ( tr, Büyük Birlik Partisi, BBP) or Great Union Party is a far-right Sunni Islamist and ultranationalist political party in Turkey, created on 29 January 1993. The court proceedings took place at the 2nd Air Force Command Court Martial Court in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

. The Balıkçı family was represented by lawyer Cem Halavurt while Kıvanç Ağaoglu is represented by lawyer İbrahim Gök. The Balıkçı family insisted that the shooting was not accidental but intentional and that the suspect should have been charged with murder. The Turkish Military Prosecutor's Office demanded a nine-year sentence for Kıvanç Ağaoğlu on the charge of “murder as a result of negligence.” Kıvanç Ağaoğlu continues to deny all charges of first-degree murder insisting that his gun went off accidentally. Upon suspicion of negligence among the commanders at the military station, non-commissioned officer Sadrettin Ersöz who is represented by lawyer Yalçın Torun was also charged with negligence in the alleged killing. During the trial's first hearing on July 24, 2011, Kıvanç Ağaoğlu was set free. During the trial an eyewitness provided details regarding the shooting. The eyewitness testified that Kıvanç Ağaoğlu threatened Sevag by saying, "''I will kill you fatty!''". During the trial's fifth hearing on December 27, 2011,

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. ...

emerging from Halil Ekşi, a conscripted soldier who was serving in the same military unit as Sevag Balıkçı, stated that Balıkçı's death was not accidental as the official reports suggest, but intentional. This was a reversal of Ekşi's original testimony which portrayed the killing as an accident. He changed his position because his "conscience didn't allow" (vicdanım elvermiyor) him to continue with the original testimony. The testimony also suggested that Halil Ekşi was visited by Kıvanç Ağaoğlu's uncle Bülent Kaya who wrote the testimony with Ekşi himself, suggesting pressure was applied towards the eyewitnesses. The Balıkçı family lawyer Cem Halavurt declared that a new lawsuit will be filed against the uncle and sister of Ağaoğlu for the obstruction of justice. The judge during the hearing also stated that it was a "matter of honor" for him to reach a fair verdict in the case. Testimony given by Sevag Balıkçı's fiancée on March 30, 2012, stated that he was subjected to psychological pressure at the military compound. His fiancé was told by Sevag through telephone conversations with him that he feared for his life because a certain military serviceman threatened him by saying, "If war were to happen with

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, you would be the first person I would kill". According to the testimony, Sevag was also under pressure to convert to Islam. During the trial's ninth hearing on November 5, 2012, defense lawyer İbrahim Gök requested a media ban on all further hearings. Prosecuting attorney Cem Halavurt rejected the proposal stating that "''If there is a press ban in this court, will Turkey stop talking about the Armenian issue? Or will people not talk about deaths in the army? This is why we demand that the press ban be overruled. Even if we don't like certain thoughts, we should treat them as part of free speech in a democratic society.''" İbrahim Gök claimed that the trial was becoming "politicized" and that the case has nothing to do with the events of 1915 (referring to the

). The request for a press ban was rejected. On March 26, 2013, a court ruled that the incident was accidental and sentenced Kıvanç Ağaoğlu for four years and five months in prison. However, the decision was overturned by the Military Supreme Court in July 2014 on the basis that "legal documents did not include the court's name," and the trial was reinitiated in December 2014. In the meantime, one of the witnesses of the trial who first stated that Balıkçı was killed intentionally and then changed his testimony to argue that Balıkçı was killed accidentally was tried for lying under oath. During this trial, Halil Ekşi, the witness in question, stated that he was forced to lie because he was under pressure, while his family testified that they were being threatened by Ağaoğlu's family. Upon news of this occurrence, the next trial was set for February 27, 2015. On March 26, 2013, Kıvanç Ağaoğlu was convicted by the Diyarbakır 2nd Air Force Command Military Court for murder with deliberate negligence and sentenced to four years five months and ten days of imprisonment. Later, the Military Supreme Court has overturned the ruling and sent the case for reconsideration. After

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

, military courts were suspended in Turkey and the case was sent to the Kozluk Criminal Court of First Instance of Batman where the retrial started on February 8, 2018. According to the verdict of the Kozluk Criminal Court of First Instance, Kıvanç Ağaoğlu has been found guilty of deliberate murder and sentenced to 16 years and 8 months of imprisonment following which Ağaoğlu was arrested.

Criminology report

In May 2015, a criminology report was conduct on Balıkçı and it was discovered that 41 bullet holes were found in his military uniform. It was initially stated by the military commandment at the time of the murder that there were two bullet holes.

Justice initiative

A justice initiative was launched in Turkey devoted to the case of Sevag Balıkçı. Members of the panel include the mother of Sevag, Ani Balıkçı, Arat Dink,

Kerem Kabadayı Kerem Kabadayı (born 20 December 1977) is a Turkish writer and musician (drummer). He is a founding member and party Turkish rock-band Mor ve Ötesi. Biography He was born on 20 December 1977 in Ankara, Turkey, to Ülkü (Yulku) Kabadayı a ...

Ufuk Uras Mehmet Ufuk Uras (; born January 4, 1959, in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish left-libertarian politician and economist. Biography and political career Uras graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Istanbul University and began work ...

Rakel Dink Rakel Dink (born 1959) is a Turkish Armenian human rights activist and head of the Hrant Dink Foundation. She is the last member of the Armenian Varto Tribe who had settled in Cizre. She is the widow of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist and human ...

, and others. The initiative protested the court's decision in letting suspect Kıvanç Ağaoğlu free and proclaimed that Sevag was murdered due to a hate crime. Kerem Kabadayı remarked that "If this hate crime goes unpunished, the Armenian youth in Turkey will be under threat."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balikci, Sevag 2011 murders in Turkey April 2011 crimes Deaths by firearm in Turkey Batman, Turkey Turkish military personnel Anti-Armenianism in Turkey Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery Terrorism in Turkey Turkish nationalism

Death

Trial

Criminology report

Justice initiative

See also

References