Interior Ministry drops claim on compensation for PKK Kuşadası bombing

İZMİR - Demirören News Agency

The Interior Ministry has withdrawn its claim over the compensation paid to relatives of the victims of a PKK bomb attack 13 years ago in the popular Kuşadası resort town of the western Aydın province.

Five people were killed and 13 others were injured when a bomb planted by a PKK militant on a minibus exploded in July 2005.

The PKK is listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The families of three victims, who lost their lives in the attack 13 years ago, had filed a lawsuit against the governorate of Aydın, claiming compensation.

The families received the compensation after a local court in Aydın ruled the state to pay 70,000 Turkish Liras in compensation to each family.

Later, the Interior Ministry challenged the local court’s ruling, arguing that the amount was too high. The ministry appealed to the Council of State.

The 10th Chamber of the Council of State ruled that the state did not neglect its duty in this particular incident and compensation should not be paid to the families.

The legal wrangling between the ministry and the families over the compensation claim continued for years. The father of one victim even took the case to the Constitutional Court.

After the local court in Aydın ruled that the families were not entitled to compensation, the lawyers of the Interior Ministry demanded Şahin Tutum, the father of Deniz Tutum, who died in the bomb attack, to repay the 70,000 liras with interest.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu intervened when he learned about the ongoing legal battle. He first called for an inquiry into the case and later ordered the ministry to drop the lawsuits against the families.

Consequently, lawyers of the Interior Ministry withdrew the legal suits filed against the families of the victims.

“The loss of our children and the events that happened afterwards have deeply saddened us. We want to know we have put all this behind now. Our struggle has borne fruit,” said Tutum.

The relatives of the Turkish victims had claimed that 1.2 million pounds had been paid in compensation for British tourist Helyn Bennet and Irish tourist Tana Whalen, who were also killed in the Kuşadası blast. However, no statement has been made by the Turkish authorities regarding this claim.