‘Dropped from a helicopter,’ Şiban says, ‘They dropped us, they dropped us...’

* Photo: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

"An operation was launched against the house of our client Osman Şiban with dozens of gendarmerie officers. He is taken to a military hospital. According to what the prosecutor says, they did it to find out whether he is in a state to depose. There is no such practice. It is an arbitrary practice..."

Osman Şiban (50) and Servet Turgut (55) were detained by the soldiers who launched an operation in the district of Çatak in Turkey's eastern province of Van on September 11. They were found in the intensive care unit of the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital two days later. Both citizens were allegedly dropped from a military helicopter.

As reported by Cemil Uğur from Mezopotamya Agency, the medical report prepared by the hospital has confirmed that they fell from a higher place.

While Osman Şiban has lost his memory, Servet Turgut is still in treatment in the intensive care unit of the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital. He has still not recovered from death.

'Our suspicions are growing'

The attorneys of both Şiban and Turgut families have spoken to bianet about the condition of the two citizens:

"We think that our client Osman Şiban has been taken to a military hospital for a check. Prosecutor has told us that it will be checked whether he is in a medical state to depose or not. However, there is no such practice in the legal system of Turkey. There is no provision for this practice in the law.

"We know that the allegation of being dropped from a helicopter is based on the statement of the person who brought Şiban and Turgut to the hospital. The person who took them there said, 'They were dropped from a helicopter.' It is also indicated in the hospital report.

"Moreover, when we talked to Osman Şiban, he could say that they were taken into custody on the day of the incident; however, he cannot tell what happened next. From time to time, he says, 'They dropped and dropped us...' But as he suffers from memory loss, he cannot say anything about the aftermath. He confirms that they were detained.

"He can talk about the rest in disconnected fragments. This statement of his overlaps with that of the person who brought them to hospital and makes our suspicions about being dropped from a helicopter stronger."

'He is in intensive care, has broken ribs'

Addressing the ones who say, "If they had been dropped from a helicopter, they would be dead already", the attorneys of both families have noted that Servet Turgut has broken ribs and he is in a terrible state, living in an intensive care unit while attached to a device.

The attorneys have also shared the following information:

"Regarding Şiban, the prosecutor said it would be checked whether he was in a state to depose. But a gendarmerie officer let it slip and said, 'It has become such a big issue on social media that we get afraid about ourselves. So, we have brought him here so that he will be in our sight.'

"The prosecutor has already said that there is no warrant for his detention. If there is no such warrant, you cannot just take a person to a military hospital in a haste to see whether he is in a state to depose or not. There is no such provision in the law. This is a completely unlawful and arbitrary practice.

"Osman Şiban is already not in a state to talk to us, to the HDP or to the police. He is suffering from a memory loss. Servet Turgut is also in intensive care, struggling for his life."

What happened?

Taken into custody by the soldiers who launched an operation in the Çatak district of Van province on September 11, Osman Şiban (50) and Servet Turgut (55) were found in the intensive care unit of the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital two days later.

Speaking about the issue, Osman Şiban said that he and Servet Turgut were dropped from a helicopter after they had been detained and tortured by soldiers in Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Van.

As reported by Cemil Uğur from the Mezopotamya Agency (MA), the hospital epicrisis report of Şiban and Turgut has been completed.

The report has indicated that Şiban was taken to the Van Training and Research Hospital "with complaints of injury after falling from a helicopter."

While the "Intensive Care" section of the report has referred to "falling from a higher place" as a complaint, the report has further said that "they were brought to the emergency department by paramedics upon being informed by the security personnel after they had fallen from a higher place."

In a written statement about the allegation that two people were dropped from a military helicopter, the Governor's Office of Van has announced that a legal and administrative investigation has been launched.

Osman Şiban was reportedly taken to a military hospital by force on September 22. (EMK/SD)