Citizen detained under excessive force and fire
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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Van Deputy Murat Sarısaç submitted a parliamentary question regarding the soldiers' behavior during the detention of a citizen in the Başkale district of eastern province Van.
In a video released by Mezopotamya Agency yesterday (June 20) women's screams are heard amid the automatic rifle fire by the soldiers in Başkale which is mostly a Kurdish-populated district of Van. Meanwhile, a person is being detained by soldiers and put in an armored vehicle. Some soldiers can be observed making the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) hand salute.
Van'ın Başkale ilçesi Xaşkan Mahallesi’ne bağlı Sersul mezrasında K.A adlı yurttaşı gözaltına almak için gelen özel askeri birlikler, havaya dakikalarca ateş açtı, duruma itiraz eden kadınları da darp ettihttps://t.co/OcTuUjnzYN pic.twitter.com/kWLXGiHaFi
— Mezopotamya Ajansı (@MAturkce) June 21, 2022
When the video was shared on Twitter, it stirred a huge reaction among many users as well as politicians and human rights activists.
HDP MP Sarısaç asked the Ministry of Interior, Süleyman Soylu, about the video.
"The excessive use of force by security forces against citizens is often the subject of public debate. Due to the frequent repetition of similar situations, it is concluded that this is not an exceptional situation."
"It was reported in the media that on 20 June 2022, private military units that came to detain a citizen in the Sersul hamlet of Van's Başkale district, Esenyamaç (Xaşkan) Neighbourhood, opened fire intensely into the air, and women who objected were beaten."
"In particular, the silence of the political power and the policy of impunity have caused similar situations to occur frequently; It seems that it is not possible to live a normal life in Kurdish populated regions."
Questions to the Ministry
Van Deputy Sarısaç asked the following questions:
- What information does your Ministry have about this incident of shots being fired into the air and women being battered during detention on 20.06.2022 in the Sersul hamlet of Esenyamaç Neighbourhood, Başkale district of Van?
- Are you aware of the situation that the citizens were exposed to in this incident? Is it true that citizens were beaten?
- Why did security forces behave in that manner? Did they act legally?
- Has an investigation been conducted? Has any one person been investigated until now?
- During the detention of Kurdish politician Ömer Işık on June 3, 2022, in Van, was there an investigation about the shots fired inside his house? Did they act legally?
- What is the reason for the frequent occurrence of similar situations, especially in Van? Why has not any action been taken regarding these instances?
Buldan: The government started the election campaign
HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan brought up the issue at the group meeting of her party. Buldan said the following,
"So, are we surprised? We are not surprised. The government started the election campaign with this method. We strongly condemn the brutality of pointing a gun at people, shooting their weapons into the air, and beating women."
"We know very well that they aim to scare and intimidate the people. But what we know and see is this; This power and its company are trembling and afraid."
"They should know that no one could bring these people to their knees or subdue them. Especially the people of Van who will never bow down."
"Your election campaign with weapons will be the end of your power and your politics."
What happened?Soldiers went to detain a person in the Esenyamaç (Xaşkan) neighborhood of Van's Başkale district yesterday (Jun 20). During the detention, they fired excessively into the air. Reactions arose after the images of soldiers battering a woman were shared on social media. In the footage, it is seen that villagers resisted while the detained person was forcibly put into the armored vehicle. After the release of the video, the Van governorship published a statement, saying that the troops opened fire because relatives of the detained were throwing stones at the vehicles of the gendarmerie. The Van governorship also claimed that the detained had 5 separate search warrants and was arrested. |