For the 1,098th time, the Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in Istanbul to demand clarification of cases of enforced disappearance in state custody and the prosecution of those responsible. The focus of this week’s vigil was the case of Nezir Acar, who was detained 34 years ago in the Kurdish province of Mardin by the Turkish gendarmerie and has not been seen since. The case was presented by Oya Ersoy, co-chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD).
Nezir Acar lived in the village of Guriza in the Dargeçit district. He was a father of three and earned his living through livestock farming. On April 8, 1992, the 28-year-old went to the center of Kerboran to handle some business. That same day, soldiers under the command of a non-commissioned officer carried out raids on several houses. In the evening, the house where Acar was staying was also raided, and he and two other men were detained.
Acar and the two others were taken blindfolded to the gendarmerie in Kerboran, where, according to witnesses, they were tortured. Two of the men were later released. Nezir Acar, however, was not. Since that moment, there has been no trace of him. His family immediately began searching for him. His father contacted the district governor’s office, the governorate in Mardin, and military authorities. However, the authorities denied having detained Acar.
At the same time, the family itself came under pressure. His wife was briefly detained. His father was held in custody for several days, tortured, and threatened with death. He was told: “Just as we killed your son, we will kill you too.” Despite these statements, no effective investigation was launched. The Dargeçit prosecutor’s office dropped proceedings against the military personnel involved. Later attempts by the family to reopen the case also failed and complaints were rejected. On November 16, 2012, the file was ultimately closed on the grounds of the statute of limitations. An appeal to the Turkish Constitutional Court was rejected due to lack of temporal jurisdiction.
At the vigil, the Saturday Mothers once again strongly criticized this practice. In the statement read out, Oya Ersoy said: “The statute of limitations serves legal certainty, not the erasure of truth. It must not be applied to crimes such as enforced disappearance.” She added: “Do not turn time into an instrument to conceal the truth, destroy evidence, silence witnesses, and protect perpetrators.” Ersoy emphasized that enforced disappearance is a continuing crime and must not be legitimized by the passage of time. She stated that the IHD and the Saturday Mothers will continue their protest until the fate of Nezir Acar is clarified and those responsible are held accountable.
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