In the rural area of Silvan, in the province of Amed, a nomad family was forcibly detained by the Turkish military last weekend.

R.D. (54), S.D., H.D. (24), H.D. (28), M.S. (45) were taken into custody and referred to the court for their arrest after the prosecution proceedings at the Silvan Courthouse.

Of those referred to the court, R.D. and M.S. were released, while the three others were sent to prison on the allegation of "being a member of a terrorist organization".

Background

At least five members of the family, aged between nine and forty-five, were taken into custody by the Turkish forces on suspicion of "terror" and taken to the gendarmerie station in Silvan. While the 9-year-old child has been placed in the care of relatives, the adults, including a woman, will reportedly be transferred to the gendarmerie command in Amed after a compulsory health check.

The incident took place on Saturday in the village of Bameydan (Yuva), east of the centre of Silvan, after fighting between the guerrillas and the Turkish army, according to reports. According to unconfirmed reports, three guerrillas lost their lives during the confrontation.

After the clashes, the Turkish army launched a military operation in Bameydan, and the area was completely sealed off. The area of operation also includes the area where the Kurdish nomad family, originally from the province of Batman, had pitched their tent. Hardly anything is left of the tent, as it was burnt down. However, it is still unclear whether it went up in flames during the fighting or was set on fire by soldiers afterwards.