Whereabouts of Hurşit Külter remains unknown since his detention by state forces 46 days ago. In a related statement, ICAD said: “Those who commit crimes against humanity will answer to history, sooner or later. Hurşit Külter was taken alive, we want him back alive.”

International Coalition Against Disappearances (ICAD) said it was significant that the state failed to give a statement for Hurşit Külter, missing for 46 days, and asked: “Has Hurşit Külter disappeared in custody?” ICAD issued a call to find Külter.

International Coalition Against Disappearances (ICAD) issued a statement on Hurşit Külter, DBP Şırnak Province administrator whose arrest on May 27 was admitted by the state forces but hasn’t been heard from since.

“THE APPROACH OF THE TURKISH STATE IS SIGNIFICANT”

The statement opens with, “Külter said he was surrounded by state forces in the last message he sent his family,” and continues: “On May 27, a Twitter account named ‘BÖF’, suspected to belong to special forces units, had shared photos of Külter’s arrest, then had retracted that post. Lawyers appeals to all official institutions were answered with ‘He is not in custody’. HDP MPs took the matter to the Parliament and asked the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister repeatedly, after which the National Defense Minister Fikri Işık said the investigation on Hurşit Külter was ongoing. But no announcement has been made since that day regarding Külter.”

ICAD referenced DİHA’s report that included statements from the village guards taking part in that operation and said: “According to witness reports, Hurşit Külter was beaten and detained, and was taken to Gümüştepe Special Operations Branch Headquarters. He was kept there for 7 days and then transferred to the 23rd Gendarmerie Border Division Command. It is evident by witness statements that Külter was taken into custody under torture by the state forces and has suffered intense torture. It is significant that the Turkish state issues no statements on the whereabouts of Hurşit Külter. Has Hurşit Külter disappeared in custody?”

“WE WANT HIM ALIVE!”

The statement reads: “In Turkey, forced disappearances under custody have been utilized systematically by the state in the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of people were forcibly disappeared,” and continues:

“Saturday Mothers have been asking the state what happened to their lost relatives since May 27, 1995 in weekly sit-ins. But the state has continued to obscure the fate of the disappeared. For the last year, the state’s attacks and massacres on the Kurdish people and opposition circles has continued. As in Suruç, Ankara, İstanbul, Roboski and all other massacres, the murderers and those responsible are being protected. In a country with no human rights, no freedom of thought and expression, our concern grows that Hurşit Külter has been forcibly disappeared. Forced disappearance is a crime against humanity. Those who commit crimes against humanity will answer to history, sooner or later. Hurşit Külter was taken alive, we want him back alive!”