Burak is 22 years old and lives in Berlin-Neukölln. His friends are very important to him. They have known each other for a long time and stick together. He does a lot of sport and is very cheerful. "Our sunshine", says his mother. "Our darling," says his father. "He always makes me laugh," says a friend.
On the night of 4-5 April 2012, Burak meets friends on the street near Neukölln hospital. A white man comes. He shoots the group several times without saying a word and leaves. Burak dies. Two of his friends survive, seriously injured.
The murder takes place only a few months after the NSU exposed itself. This time, too, the perpetrator and the victim do not know each other.
To this day, the perpetrator has not been caught. How can that be?
We ask: Was the motive racism again?
Burak is not an isolated case.
More than 200 people have died in Germany as a result of right-wing violence since 1990. The NSU murders, the murders in Kassel, Halle and Hanau, are not isolated individual cases. Nor are they simply confused individual perpetrators. Racism, anti-Semitism and neo-Nazi ideas are widespread in German society. It is the breeding ground for all these acts.
Together with Burak's relatives and friends, we have been demanding clarification of the murder of Burak Bektaş since 2012. We have set up a memorial near the crime scene to keep Burak's memory alive. We are also in contact with relatives of other victims of right-wing violence. Because: No one is forgotten! Right-wing terror does not silence us.
Burak's mother, Melek Bektaş, put it this way in 2017 at the NSU Complex Tribunal:
"If we remain silent, this will continue to happen. No, no silence! We will not be silent anymore. Now we will speak! No mourning - but anger! No giving up, but fighting!"
She says:
"We are here to raise our voices. We want justice for all Buraks. That is why we are here."
Tek umudumuz daha çok Buraklar ölmesin Sesimizi duyurmak için buradayız Biz Buraklar için adalet istiyoruz
The murder of Burak Bektaş is not an isolated case. We commemorate all victims of racist murders. We demand clarification.
Speech by the Bektaş family on the 9th anniversary of Burak's death on 5.4.2021
I am Burak's cousin. 9 years ago, an unknown man opened fire on a group of young people, murdering Burak. For 9 years we have been taking to the streets and asking the same questions.
Who murdered Burak? Why did he have to die? What was the perpetrator's motive?
For 9 years, neither the police, the homicide squad nor the politicians have been able to answer these questions. This raises more questions.
How can it be that a murderer has been at large for 9 years and has gone unpunished? When will the murderer get his just punishment? When will we get justice?
There is one question I no longer ask myself after 9 years. Have the murder squads and politics failed?
Because they have failed. As has the question of whether we will continue to take to the streets. You may think that eventually this will stop and we'll let it go. But we will go on the streets until the murderer is behind bars forever.
Burak we love and miss you and we will fight for you even if it takes another decade.
Initiative zur Aufklärung des Mordes an Burak Bektaş https://burak.blackblogs.org/