A member of the state-sponsored village guard in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority Ağrı (Agirî) province, by the name of Seyhan Kaya, is alleged to have assaulted three minors, aged between 11 and 15, in the village of Akbaraza Jor on Friday, accusing them of pilfering his lamb. Subsequent to the physical altercation, Kaya is reported to have also discharged multiple rounds from a long-barrelled gun at the children’s family residence.
The incident came to light when the father of the children, Resul Taştan, lodged a formal complaint against Kaya. Taştan stated, “I had no prior knowledge of the altercation. He called and threatened me. Then he came to my house and fired 6-7 shots. After the shots were fired, I called the gendarmes. We don’t know what to do. They are using the state-provided weapons to oppress the people.”
One of the injured children, known as O.T. (13), who is due to take a scholarship examination tomorrow, Sunday, sustained two broken arms. According to the Diyadin Gendarmerie Command, Kaya was taken into custody following the complaint but was later released.
Nejla Demir, a Member of Parliament from the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party representing Ağrı, visited the Taştan family and pledged to initiate legal action against Kaya. “We will ensure that the village guard faces appropriate consequences for his actions,” she said.
