In the applications made to our association, families of Hurşit Külter, Müjgan Ekin and Taşkın Yasak made statements regarding their children’s disappearance in custody. In order to find out their situations, our association thereupon contacted with official authorities, made the necessary applications and carried out a series of activities for raising public awareness.
In Erbil, Iraq on 7 October 2016 subsequent to reaching a safe place after 134 days, Hurşit Külter declared to the public that he was illegally detained in Şırnak city centre, managed to escape because the detention place was a demolished building and he is alive.
Müjgan Ekin reached her family through phone calls on 11 December and 25 December 2016 and verified that she was illegally detained as confirmed by eyewitness statement and camera footages, interrogated for 48 days under torture, and then released in Jarabulus, Syria.
Moreover, Taşkın Yasak’s wife applied to our association’s Diyarbakır branch on 03.12.2016 and stated that she didn’t receive any information from her husband as of 01.12.2016. Our Diyarbakır branch made applications to the official authorities and demanded that authorities investigate his condition and notify his family if he is in custody. Afterwards, Taşkın Yasak’s wife made another application to the branch and stated that her husband returned to home.
After all these illegal detentions, release/emancipation of the aforementioned persons and understanding that these persons are alive are pleasing for us and our greatest consolation.
Again, we demand that competent authorities disallow illegal detentions, carry out effective investigation of security personnel which perform illegal detention and conceal the situation from Public Prosecutors and disallow disappearances in custody. Our struggle for Turkey to perform its international obligations regarding the disappear cases in custody and taking perpetrators to court by investigating the state of these persons will be continued until we get a favourable result.
We thank the public for its sensitivity and bring the situation to the public attention.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION