Epress.am News from Armenia
New details have come to light regarding the tragic death on Apr. 24 of Armenian-Turkish Pvt. Sevag Şahin Balıkçı (pictured, right) serving in Turkey’s military. Recall, Turkey’s military officials claim the death was an accident. According to official reports, Balıkçı’s friend’s rifle accidentally discharged when the military said the two boys were “joking around” with their rifles. Balıkçı’s family said they believed the official statement, saying it was only a strange coincidence that their son died on April 24; however, his fiancée, Melani Kumruyan, does not believe that Balıkçı’s death was accidental.
According to Istanbul-based bilingual Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, the name of the person who shot Balıkçı has become known: Kıvanç Ağaoğlu. Speaking to investigators, Ağaoğlu described the following story: “That day, at around 10:30 am, we were strengthening the barbed wire on the fence with 8 friends. To ensure my and my friends’ security, I had put bullets in my gun. The barrel of the gun was pointing up. The gun suddenly fired while I was putting it down. I was on one side of the barbed wire; Sevag, on the other. There was barely 1–2 meters between us. First, I thought he was joking. Then I understood that the shot hit him.”
However, during questioning, a witness, soldier Khalil Ekshi [English spelling of name unconfirmed], refuted Ağaoğlu’s remarks: “While we were working, Kıvanç loaded his gun and aimed it at Sevag. We all laughed. The gun suddenly fired. We saw that the bullet entered Sevag’s right side and came out on the left.”
Sevag’s attorney Cem Halavurt noted that only the soldiers were present at the time, and the absence of a senior officer can be considered a violation. Also considered a violation of military regulations is the fact that in the absence of a senior officer, a conscript loaded his weapon with live ammunition.
According to the attorney, the witness testimonies are superficial and contradictory. “There’s a sense that the witnesses are hired. All the soldiers claimed that the incident was an accident. But the way it happened doesn’t seem convincing to us.”
Halavurt considers it questionable that the incident occurred at around 11 am, while the documents began to be put together at 5 pm.
“It’s possible that at that time the soldiers were given orders [i.e. hired out],” he said.