ŞIRNEX - The district governor of İdil refused to authorize an investigation into police officer Metin Kiraz, who killed 7-year-old Miraç Miroğlu by hitting him with an armored vehicle, claiming that he had “no other choice but to hit him.”
On September 3, 2021, in the Turgut Özel neighborhood of Hezex (İdil) district in Şirnex (Şırnak), police officer Metin Kiraz struck and killed 7-year-old Miraç Miroğlu with an armored vehicle. Miroğlu, who was seriously injured in the incident, died at the hospital where he was taken.
Following the incident, Kiraz was acquitted in a case filed against him at the İdil Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of “causing death by negligence.” However, the trial, which was conducted without permission from the local administrative authority in the area where the incident took place, was overturned by the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeals on procedural grounds.
After failing to respond to requests for an investigation permit for nearly two years, the Ministry of the Interior and the İdil District Governor's Office finally responded to the request. İdil District Governor Anıl Adıgüzel rejected the request for an investigation into Kiraz, who was on duty at the İdil District Police Department, based on an investigation report prepared by a commissioner. The decision stated that Miraç Miroğlu should not have been on the road at the time of the incident. The decision cited reports prepared by the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute's Traffic Expertise Department and the Extended Experts Committee as grounds for not granting permission to investigate the police officer who was driving the armored vehicle, stating that he was “not at fault, while Miraç was primarily at fault.”
'THE POLICE HAD NO CHOICE'
The district governor's decision referred to camera footage and the scene of the incident, claiming that the vehicle was traveling at 30.1 kilometers per hour and that speed limits were being observed. Additionally, it was noted that sunlight obstructed visibility, the structural characteristics of armored vehicles limited the field of vision, and there were no impact marks on the front of the vehicle. Based on all this data, it was argued that “the child collided with the vehicle on his bicycle, and the police had no other option.”
The lawyers for the case stated that they would appeal the administrative decision and would use all legal means to ensure justice.
MA / Zeynep Durgut