Police Negligence Led To ISIL Militant's Attack On HDP Rally, Report Says

Though Orhan Gönder, a suspect in a deadly bomb attack at an election rally in the city of Diyarbakır, was on a list of missing persons linked to terrorism, he was reportedly released after police inquired about the status of his military service and searched his hotel room only two days before the attack, in an instance of negligence, according to a recent report.

The Radikal daily reported on Monday that the Adıyaman Chief Prosecutor's Office had issued an arrest warrant for Gönder in 2014 as part of a terrorism investigation, describing the suspect as a “missing person linked to terrorism.” However, police officers released him after finding that he had not completed his military service and searching his hotel room in Diyarbakır only two days before the attack.

According to officials, those who are described as "missing persons linked to terrorism" should not be released following a search. These names are not recorded in the database of those with criminal records, as they are only suspects, and have not yet committed any crime. Their names are recorded, however, in other police records. Failing to check these records, the officers took a statement from Gönder regarding his missed military service, and allowed him to leave the hotel.

Due to their failure to check the background of the suspect thoroughly, police negligence indirectly led to the deaths of four people, according to the Radikal report.

Gönder is accused of being responsible for a bomb attack targeting supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) during an election rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır ahead of the June 7 general election. Two bomb blasts killed four people and wounded more than 400. Gönder is also believed to be a member of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The Zaman daily recently reported a related instance of police negligence, claiming that Gönder was being monitored by police ahead of the attack but that this surveillance was halted on the day the attack occurred.

According to the Zaman report, the Adıyaman Police Department's intelligence unit had been monitoring Gönder's activities for an extended period of time due to a complaint from his family, who suspected that he had joined ISIL. Police halted their surveillance on the morning of June 5, a matter of timing that has raised suspicions.

Radikal has reported that a person from Gönder's neighborhood in Adıyaman had also notified police that Gönder had joined ISIL, asking them to take the required precautions against his future involvement with the terrorist group. In spite of the clear warnings, the daily wrote, it is clear that police negligence led to the attack.

Gönder had reportedly traveled to Syria after being involved with ISIL for some time in the southeastern province of Gaziantep. He allegedly returned to Gaziantep several days before the Diyarbakır rally. In Gaziantep he allegedly met with a group whose members were also being monitored by police. Upon entering Diyarbakır, the suspect checked into a hotel, and, two days before the attack, bought a new SIM card.

A court has ordered that details concerning the investigation into the Diyarbakir bombing remain confidential, despite widespread speculation.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)