Birsen kars fell as a martyr!
Birsen Kars, who survived among the women who were burned alive in Bayrampaşa Prison within the framework of the "Return to Life Operation" carried out in the 21 Turkish prisons in 2000 lost her life due to cancer on February 6 in Germany in the city of Stuttgart.
Who was Birsen Kars?
Birsen Kars was born on July 9, 1973 in Nuremberg. In 1984, her family decided to return to Turkey. There she entered the University of Istanbul in 1990 and studied industrial engineering. There she got to know the IYÖ-DER organization linked to the TÖDEF student federation, which was fighting for the democratization of universities that were under the dictates of the military junta that had taken power on September 12, 1980.
In the context of her political activities on campus, she was first arrested and tortured in February 1992. In September 1992, she was again arrested on the campus itself. She underwent a second 15-day police custody, which meant a second round of torture sessions. Then, the 3rd State Security Court of Istanbul would sentence her to 21 and a half years in prison for belonging to the "Devrimci Sol" organization, without any evidence and based only on statements made by the police.
Her captivity will last almost 11 years, including eight years in Bayrampasa prison and two years in Bakirköy prison. Her transfer to Bakirköy Prison would occur in the heat of the murderous assault of 19 December 2000 intended to inaugurate the new "F-type prisons".
Between 1996 and 2000, Turkish prisons will experience a resurgence of tension. The reason: the will of the Turkish state to break political prisoners. To do this, the army was sent to the prisons on several occasions, notably to Ulucanlar in September 1999, to Burdur and Bergama in July 2000. And then, it is the final assault...
On 19 December 2000, 21 prisons were taken over by the armed forces, assisted by elite troops and the political police. The result: 28 dead and nearly 1000 wounded.
Birsen Kars was then in block C of the Bayrampasa prison. Around 4:50 am, the female prisoners were woken up by the sound of demolition machinery and heavy gunfire. A few hours later, six of her fellow inmates were burned alive by bombs thrown by the army.
She too will know hell. She found herself trapped in the middle of a blinding black smoke that melted her body. Her hair fell off in clumps. The skin on her arms began to collect on the end of her hand and melt. Everything burned, but without flame.
Her clothes were still intact, but her body was burning from the inside out... Third degree burns covered a third of her body. Some doctors would later suspect the use of phosphorus in the gas thrown at Birsen and her friends in Bayrampasa prison.
Then she spent 6 months in hospital without interruption. Totally she underwent 10 surgical operations. With the aftermath of the 1996 hunger strike, her medical situation only worsened. In December 2002, she was released from prison for a period of six months under Article 399 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMUK). Once released, she underwent further surgery.
Since August 25, 2005 she lived first of all in Europe.
She continued the struggle against fascism and imperialism.
We would like to express our condolences to the family of Birsen Kars.
Dogan Press Agency
www.doganpresseagence.ceom
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