The Saturday Mothers Initiative has called for justice for the victims of disappearances in state custody for the 1,077th time in Galatasaray Square in Istanbul. This week, they highlighted the case case of Nazım Gülmez, who was abducted by soldiers in the Kurdish province of Dersim (tr. Tunceli) in 1994 and never reappeared.
With photos of the disappeared and red carnations, relatives of missing persons, activists, and members of the Human Rights Association (IHD) gathered in the central square in the Beyoğlu district. The statement on the case was read out by IHD activist Ümit Tekay Dişli.
“Nazım Gülmez never came back”
Nazım Gülmez, then 61 years old and father of nine children, lived in the village of Torut (Taşıtlı) in the district of Hozat. He was a farmer and respected in the community. On the morning of October 14, 1994, the village was visited by soldiers from the Bolu Commando Brigade—notorious troops within the Turkish army who had already been involved in the invasion of Cyprus and are part of the occupying forces in Rojava and South Kurdistan.
Gülmez was taken from his home—officially to serve as a local guide in a military operation. Three other villagers were also taken away. While they returned the same day, Nazım Gülmez remained missing. His wife, Garip Gülmez, then contacted the authorities, who explained that her husband had been taken to Dersim and released there. The family, however, did not believe the reports as they believed that he would certainly have come if he had been released.
“Impunity protects the perpetrators”
The family filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office in Hozat. But the investigation came to nothing. For years, the file was passed back and forth between the local public prosecutor’s office, the military prosecutor’s office in Elazığ, and the prosecution service at the now abolished state security courts in Malatya, without any substantial investigation taking place.
“31 years later, we still don’t know what happened to Nazım Gülmez,” said Ümit Tekay Dişli. “Those responsible remain unpunished and protected by systematic impunity. But we will not stop demanding justice.”
The vigil ended with the symbolic laying of carnations at Galatasaray Square.