'If he committed a crime, he should stand trial, why did you drop him from a helicopter?'

Drawing: Timur Çelik

Click to read the article in Turkish

"There is not even one percent chance of improvement in my brother's condition. Servet has seven children, he is 63 years old. We are farmers, we are poor. Why did they do this to us? We want justice."

Osman Şiban, 50, and Servet Turgut, 63, were detained by soldiers during an operation in Çatak district in the Kurdish-majority Van province. Two days later, they were in the intensive care unit Van Regional Training and Research Center.

It is alleged that both citizens were dropped off from a helicopter. They "fell from a height" according to medical reports, Mesopotamia Agency reported.

Eyewitness: They were in good health when they were detained

Osman Şiban's brother, Cengiz Şiban, who witnessed the day of the incident, told the agency that Turgut was detained while he was collecting hay in his field and Osman Şiban was detained when they were drinking tea together. Both were in good health when they were detained, he said.

Discharged from the hospital 11 days later, Şiban is currently under treatment at his home in the southern province of Mersin. Turgut is still in intensive care.

His brother Naif Turgut told bianet that "Years ago, our village was burned down. There were unemployment problems. So we migrated to Mersin. I've been working in Mersin for years. My brother also lives in Mersin."

"My brother wanted to go to the village. In summer, he comes to the village and does farming. He had built a one-room home out of bricks. He was making hay, farming. We don't understand how he got in a situation like this. We are poor people. All we do is farming," he added.

"Doctors said, 'We are doing our best for your brother.' We are hopeful but his condition is very bad. He had a brain hemorrhage, all of his ribs are broken. He has internal bleeding. My brother is gone. Still, if there is life, there is hope.

"My brother and Osman Şiban mow grass together for three-four months. They mill and blend it. They sell it in Van. We are poor people. Osman's body was very strong, my brother's body was weak."

"If he committed a crime, he should be handed over to the judiciary"

"He is a poor man, he wouldn't support anyone, he wouldn't interfere with state business. If he committed a crime, the state should hand him over to the judiciary, what is dropping someone from a helicopter?

"We are people who wouldn't even harm a fly but my brother has experienced this. We trust the state but what can we do when such incidents happen? My brother can't have anything to do with such accusations. If he committed a crime, hand him over to the judiciary, who do you drop him from a helicopter?

"Our village was burned down years ago, we had to migrate. We didn't have any problem where we went. The Aegean, the Southeast... We are all human beings. We want humanity, not anything else. He said, 'We will eradicate them all.' We are human, we exist, how will you eradicate us?

"We've been living together for years, why was this done to us? You beat him, why do you dropp him from the helicopter? We have nothing to do with such stuff, we are poor. We are people who don't even harm a fly. Why did you do this to us? We want whatever happened to be revealed and those who are responsible to stand trial."

Hüseyin Turgut, Servet Turgut's son, said that they filed a criminal complaint about the incident.

"Such a thing shouldn't be done to an animal or a human. We don't understand why they beat people who do farming like this. After all, we are all children of this homeland. We have filed a criminal complaint about the incident. We will pursue this. We will seek justice. We want justice." (EMK/VK)