Slain Turkish woman Dilek Doğan's family demands recusal in ongoing case

The Istanbul 12th Court of Serious Crimes ordered Doğan’s file to be sent to the 13th Court of Serious Crimes on May 30 after the plaintiff’s lawyers said the court was acting in a biased fashion, that the suspect was being given assurances and that a fair decision would be impossible.

During the hearing, which was closed, the parties watched footage from the day of the killing before the court heard demands from both sets of lawyers. The court board later decided to demand all wireless conversations that took place between 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on the day of the incident. Upon the complainant side’s demand, the court also ordered the footage to be sent to an expert to determine whether there had been any splicing as well as demanding an investigation into whether the recorder had a hard disc. 

Meanwhile, 19 demonstrators were detained during a protest inside and outside the courthouse as the hearing proceeded.  

Doğan was shot after Istanbul police conducted operations on Oct. 18, 2015, at 16 addresses to purportedly apprehend alleged potential suicide bomber H.R.K., a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) in Istanbul’s Küçükarmutlu neighborhood.

One of the sites raided by police was the Doğan family’s home in Küçükarmutlu. While policemen were searching the home, Y.M. allegedly shot Dilek Doğan with his rifle at the entrance after she insisted that officers put on galoshes to avoid dirtying the floor.  

Doğan’s parents say their daughter was killed after the policeman drew his weapon when she told the anti-terror squad to put on galoshes.

The police officer claimed in his testimony that the gun was fired in a scuffle after the family tried to snatch it away.

A separate investigation has been launched into Dilek Doğan’s father, Metin, her mother, Aysel, and her brother Mehmet, on accusations of impeding the police officers in their work during the raid.