From Şapatan, Necmettin Korkmaz spoke about the torture they endured with his wife and daughter. They were hit with rifle butts, and he was tied to a panzer and dragged. Korkmaz also stated that the police and soldiers stole their money.
New details are emerging in the mass torture incident where Turkish special operations police and soldiers tortured some 100 villagers in the Şapatan (Altınsu) village in Şemdinli, Hakkari. Necmettin Korkmaz, his wife and 6-year-old daughter were subjected to torture in the raid on their home, and Korkmaz spoke to DİHABER news agency about the experience.
SPEAKING OF THE NIGHT OF TORTURE
Korkmaz spoke of the experiences of the night: “It was 1 a.m. After we heard footsteps, our windows were broken. I rushed to the door but I was too late. They broke the door down. They kicked it open. 4-5 men jumped on me. They put a gun to my head and hit me with the butt. They kicked me everywhere, on my back, on my head... They said we were involved with the incident [of a special operations police man losing his life in the clashes], they said: ‘You did it, the blood of our martyr will be avenged. You will have no peace as long as we are here. Like we lost a life here, we will take lives.’ They led me outside, I heard my wife crying. We had wood for the winter, they hit me with the pieces on my head and my back, everywhere on my body. They put a gun to my head and told me they will kill me. They beat my daughter and my wife too.
“TIED TO THE PANZER”
“They tied my hands to the panzer and dragged me some 500 meters up the village, until the headman’s home. I was not allowed to stand up. Every time I tried they kicked me. I wasn’t allowed to speak, to shout or to scream.”
Korkmaz said the whole village was beaten en masse.
Korkmaz continued: “There were people waiting for us by the entrance of the police headquarters. They said ‘the guests have arrived’. They beat everybody, some civilians stopped the beating outside. They told us we would not be able to leave.”
FASCIST IN DOCTOR’S CLOTHING
Korkmaz said a doctor named Dr. Elif Ç. refused to issue battery reports after the torture, and told the police: “You didn’t beat this one enough, do some more. The blood of our martyrs will be avenged. I won’t give anybody reports.” He added that they had faced similar oppression for the last 3 years.
MONEY AND GOLD STOLEN
Necmettin Korkmaz’s wife Kudret Korkmaz said their hands were tied and they were beaten up. She said they were forced onto the ground and 3 people trampled them. Korkmaz showed their furniture and said there was nothing left undamaged. She added: “Later I couldn’t find my gold and the money we kept in the house. They left nothing. They just took my money. I had money and gold in a chest. They broke the chest and took everything in it. We pressed charges for the stolen money and gold.” The 6-year-old daughter of the Korkmaz family said she was blindfolded, choked and thrown against the walls.
