In the Kurdish province of Van, three brothers report torture and abuse by the Turkish police. The incident occurred on Wednesday in the district of Başkale and has triggered investigations against numerous officers, as became known today.
According to authorities, the brothers Fatih, Ismail and Diyar Değer were initially detained by plainclothes police officers for an alleged traffic violation. However, during the subsequent custody, they were reportedly severely abused and tortured, according to the victims.
As part of the initiated investigation, a total of 27 police officers were questioned. Thirteen of them are under investigation for bodily harm, abuse of office, threats and insults. Another 14 officers were questioned as witnesses. The three brothers were able to clearly identify the involved police officers and provide corresponding statements. The investigation into the case is ongoing.
The incident has also sparked political reactions. DEM Party MP Gülcan Kaçmaz Sağyiğit brought the case to parliament and submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministry of Interior. She called, among other things, for the clarification of the incident, possible disciplinary and criminal consequences, as well as information on previous cases of torture and abuse in the region.
The parliamentary inquiry also refers to repeated allegations of serious abuse in Van in recent years. Human rights organizations have long criticized that violence by security forces occurs repeatedly in the region and is often not consistently prosecuted.
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