Two villagers from Van in Turkey, Osman Şiban (50) and Servet Turgut (55), were thrown from a military helicopter on 11 September after they had been detained and tortured.
Turgut was admitted to a hospital two days after he had been detained by soldiers who went on an operation in the Çatak district of Van. Servet Turgut, a father of seven, died in the intensive care unit at the hospital and was buried in Van. At his funeral, his brother Naif Turgut said: “We are calling out to the whole world: the illegal acts committed against my brother should not be done to anyone. This cruelty must end. We want peace!”
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Van provincial administrators, members of the Association of Help and Solidarity with Families who have lost their Relatives (MEBYA-DER), and many citizens attended Turgut’s funeral.
Confidentiality and publication ban regarding the investigation
Statements after the funeral were prevented by the police, but representatives of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) made a statement afterwards. A judicial and administrative investigation was initiated by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding this incident.
The Turkish press received a confidentiality and publication ban on the subject of the investigation.
