HAKKARİ - While at least 48 military operations and 63 village raids took place in 11 months, 61 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment, and dozens of people were detained in Hakkari where the governor's office said "an environment of peace was established".

 

Propaganda is frequently made for Hakkari, which is located on the border of the Federated Kurdistan Region and Iran; however, what has happened in the last 11 months in the city display the opposite of the "peace environment" that the governorship and government officials who came to the city are talking about. Political parties and non-governmental organizations other than the AKP have not been allowed to take part in any action or activity on the grounds of "prohibition" in the city for 7 years. A new village is raided almost every day outside the city center, and military operations are carried out in the forbidden highlands and rural areas under the name of "special security zone". Dozens of people have been detained in these operations, and many people have been ill-treated.

 

OPERATIONS AND RAIDS

 

At least 63 villages were raided in 11 months across the city. According to the official data of the governorship, military operations were carried out in rural areas 48 times. More than 100 people were detained in the village raids. At least 61 people were tortured by police and soldiers during the operation, village raids and marches. The first operation in the city was launched on January 5 in the village of Talê in Hakkari centre. Due to the operation, the villagers could not leave their homes for two days. Afterwards, operations continued with Çukurca, Şemdinli, Yüksekova and Derecik district rural areas and their affiliated villages.

 

HAMLETS WERE EVACUATED, SPYING WAS IMPLEMENTED TO PEOPLE.

 

Torture and ill-treatment came up frequently during the operations. Soldiers raiding the village of Memkava detained 10 members of the Özkaplan family. Esat Çakmak was also beaten and detained by the police in Dara village. The torture never ended during his detention. Çakmak, who was tortured, was arrested. The police raided the house of the Adar family and battered family members, including children and the elderly.

There were also impositions of evacuation of the village and spying. In the operation launched after the conflict in the Marînûs-Kato region of Colemêrg center on April 21, the youth were removed from the region and an embargo was imposed on the villages in the region. Due to the closure of Marînûs village, the villagers had to leave the village. The spying was imposed on the villagers in the embargo that lasted for days.

 

STRIP SEARCH AND TORTURE

 

Police attacked the rally in Gever on October 9, the 24th anniversary of the international conspiracy against PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs and journalists were tortured. HDP Iğdır MP Habip Eksik's leg was broken as a result of police torture. A strip search was imposed on 7 women politicians and journalists who were taken into custody.

 

IMPUNITY

 

In the operation that started on October 25 in the rural area of Sorê village and continued until November 2, 16-year-old M.A. was beaten and detained by soldiers. The soldiers took M.A.'s phone and beat him for a long time in the armored vehicle.

 

While a single investigation was not opened against the ill-treatment and torture in question, no results could be obtained from the denunciations made.

 

MA / Mazlum Engindeniz