Syrian refugee Naif Elnaif who came to Turkey from Idlib 4 and a half months ago and working in a cardboard company, was killed by a racist mob in his home in the Bayrampaşa district of İstanbul. Witnesses in his neighborhood were reached. According to a shopkeeper in the neighborhood, similar racist attacks took place before. According to the people living in the neighborhood, a racist group has been targeting refugees for a long time but no legal action was taken about it.

 

50 meters to where Elnaif was murdered, there are party buildings of MHP, İyi Party, Felicity Party and Felicity Again Party.

 

12 PEOPLE LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE

 

We spoke to the shopkeepers in the neighborhood and observed what happened that night. 12 people were living in the same house. Elnaif shared his room with 4 people. Elnaif said he was sleeping on the couch. Elnaif said his two cousins returned to Idlib after the attack and the others moved to another place after the racist attack.

 

M.A., who does not want his name to be disclosed due to his concerns told us what happened at the night of the racist attack.

 

HE CAME HERE 2 MONTHS AGO

 

Expressing that there were 11 people at home together with Elnaif on the night of the attack, M.A said, "There were 12 people at home from Aleppo and Idlib. We rented the house a year ago. Naif also had relatives and cousins. He came here directly from Idlib 4 and a half months ago."

 

"HE WAS WEARING A POLICE VEST'

 

Stating that the attack took place at 01.20 at night, M.A said, “Some of us were sleeping, we came home so tired from work. Some of us were still up. Elnaif was also sleeping in his room. He was so tired. They knocked on the door, as we opened the door they started shouting and ordering us to lay down on the ground. One of them was wearing a police vest and was armed. One of them held a knife and had a walkie-talkie around his waist. We thought they were police officers so we laid on the ground."

 

THEY TURNED OFF THE LIGHTS

 

Expressing that the attackers turned off the lights as soon as they came in, M.A said, "They did this so that we wouldn't see them. 2 people entered Elnaif's room. Not long after, they left the house. They were in our apartment for about 5 minutes. Then Elnaif's cousin entered the room and turned on the light. Then he saw that there is blood everywhere. He shouted at us to come down. I immediately went downstairs and stopped a vehicle. We wanted to take him to a hospital but as we were carrying him downstairs we felt that he had died. We took him to the Bayrampaşa Hospital. The doctor told us he was dead."

 

ELNAIF WAS ASLEEP

 

Pointing out that their house was raided by 8 men, M.A said: "Some of them were detained. We identified a few of them. Police said Elnaif attacked them and they killed him in self- defense. Elnaif was tired and he was sleeping when they came. This is a lie."

 

'WE ARE NOT HURTING ANYONE' 

 

Stating that the people living at the house moved away after the attack, M.A said: "I moved to my sister. There have been a lot of racist attacks lately. We demand the Turkish government to stop these attacks. We came here to work and take care of our family. We are not hurting anyone. They must support us."

 

 

MA / Ferhat Çelik - Mahmut Altıntaş