In Hatay, one of the provinces most heavily affected by the earthquakes centered in Maraş, Tahsin Nihadioğlu, a worker who had initially relocated to Antalya with his family after his home was severely damaged and was later called back to work by the Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, was first subjected to torture by soldiers and police officers, and later lost his life after being hit by a vehicle belonging to Koç Holding.

On 14 February 2023, while walking from his home on Oluk Street in the Elektrik neighborhood of Hatay’s Defne district to the solidarity tents at Sevgi Park, where his relative Halil Yakut was staying, Tahsin Nihadioğlu was beaten by soldiers and subsequently detained and tortured by police officers.

Halil Yakut, who was handcuffed behind his back and beaten by the police alongside Tahsin Nihadioğlu on the same night, filed a criminal complaint against the officers who tortured them. It was later revealed that the investigation into Yakut’s complaint was dismissed.

Halil Yakut told ANF that despite the Hatay Training and Research Hospital’s report confirming that Tahsin Nihadioğlu, who later lost his life, had been subjected to physical assault, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Hatay rewarded the police officers responsible for the torture with impunity.

Yakut explained that both he and the family of Tahsin Nihadioğlu, who died after being hit by a truck belonging to Koç Holding, filed criminal complaints regarding his death. He pointed out that although the files were merged, his statement was taken only two years later, and just one month later, a decision of “no grounds for prosecution” was issued with remarkable speed.

Yakut described the events as follows: "The incident took place on 14 February 2023. I was waiting for Tahsin at Sevgi Park, where the solidarity tents were set up. A police vehicle arrived, and the officers who got out of the car approached me and asked, 'Are you Halil Yakut?' As soon as I said yes, they threw me to the ground and handcuffed my hands behind my back. When they dragged me into the vehicle while torturing me, I saw that Tahsin was already there. I was shocked.

Later, Tahsin told me that he had been tortured by soldiers in front of his own house, then handed over to the police by the soldiers, and tortured again by the police. When he was telling me this, there were already bruises on his face, eyes, and head. He was having difficulty speaking; his throat was bruised bright red because they had strangled him. When the police noticed that we were talking to each other, they attacked and tortured us again. People around protested the situation. Barış Atay, who was a Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP) MP at the time, came and spoke with the police. Afterward, the police said, 'There was a misunderstanding,' and let us go. Tahsin immediately took a photo of the police vehicle and, on the same day, we gave an interview to the TV channel 'Artı TV' during their live broadcast."

Witnesses to the torture were also ignored

Halil Yakut pointed out that despite the hospital report confirming the signs of torture on his relative Tahsin Nihadioğlu’s body and the presence of witnesses who saw these injuries, the investigation was closed. Yakut stated: "On the day of the incident, Umut Taştan, a reporter from Artı TV who interviewed us, and MP Barış Atay witnessed the torture marks on Tahsin’s face. However, the prosecutor ignored our request for the witnesses to be heard. Instead, he relied on the copy-paste statements given by the four accused police officers and closed the investigation, citing 'no report' and 'no footage' as justification."

Prosecutor ignored the hospital report

Halil Yakut explained that two days after being assaulted by soldiers and police officers, Tahsin Nihadioğlu was severely injured after being hit by a truck belonging to Koç Holding and was taken to Hatay Training and Research Hospital while in critical condition. He pointed out that the hospital not only recorded the injuries from the traffic accident but also documented the signs of assault in an official report, which the prosecutor later ignored.

Yakut stated that they filed an objection against the decision of non-prosecution and said: "Our hometown was devastated by the earthquake. As if that was not enough, we were subjected to brutal torture by the police and then disregarded by the judiciary. The perpetrators of torture were once again rewarded with impunity. This clearly shows that torture has become a state policy. We will continue to fight against this state policy, against torture, and against torturers. Human dignity will defeat torture."