Special operations units raided homes in the middle of the night in Vali Mithat Bey neighborhood of Van’s İpekyolu district. DBP Van Branch Administrator Hakan Demir, Kenan Demir and an unidentified person were tortured and taken in custody. Hakan Demir was tortured in front of his children, and his blood spattered on the walls.

Yakup Demir, Hakan Demir’s father, said some 100 special operations policemen entered their home with their weapons, blasting Mehter Ottoman military marches. Demir said the police searched the house for 3 hours but failed to find a single shred of incriminating evidence, and that they feared the safety of the detainees as the torture may have continued in the police headquarters.

Hakan and Kenan Demir are held in the Van Security Directorate and have been issued a 24 hour visitation ban.