Adalet Safali, Perişan Akçelik and her son Cihan Akçelik died in an accident in Hakkari (Colemêrg) on Tuesday.

The two women were part of the group of Peace Mothers. On 15 August, 23 people were taken into custody in the centre of Hakkari and its districts. Among those taken into custody were several activists from the Peace Mothers Initiative. Because Adalet Safali and Perişan Akçelik from Yüksekova (Gever) were not at home at the time of the raids, they were scheduled to go to the Prosecutor's Office in Van on Tuesday. The two women were taken to Van by their sons, Cihan Akçelik and Erdal Safalı.

On the way back, however, their car collided with a van. Adalet Safali and Perişan Akçelik died at the scene of the accident; Cihan Akçelik succumbed to his injuries a short time later. Erdal Safali was taken to Hakkari State Hospital in critical condition.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) blamed the government for the deaths of the two women and the son of one of them and said: "Adalet Safali and Perişan Akçelik worked for peace and this is why they were prosecuted. They were considered fugitives. The two Peace Mothers lost their lives in a traffic accident on the way back from giving a statement to the court. Perihan Akçelik's son, Cihan Akçelik, was seriously injured in the accident and eventually passed away."

The HDP said that the "government uses the judiciary against the Kurdish Peace Mothers as well as the Istanbul Saturday Mothers and is responsible for their deaths. We express our condolences to our people. We promise to keep the memory of our mothers alive and to continue to spread their call for peace."