A Kurdish man, Tacettin Kalgı, was tortured at a police station in Siverek (Sêwreg), a Kurdish-majority city in Turkey’s Urfa (Riha) province on Saturday, hours after police raided his home. An arrest warrant had been issued for him following a sentence of ten and a half years imprisonment for “organisation membership”, a charge often tied to alleged affiliations with Kurdish groups banned by Turkey, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Kalgı’s legal ordeal began in 2015 when Siverek Chief State Prosecution launched an investigation into him for suspected ties to a banned organisation. After his initial detention and release following questioning, Siverek Heavy Penal Court No.1 accepted an indictment against him and, on 31 March 2021, passed the sentence. Antep Regional Appeal Court upheld the ruling on 18 April 2022, issuing an arrest warrant pending review of the case by the Supreme Court in Ankara. Police detained Kalgı at his residence early on Saturday and took him to Siverek police station, where the alleged abuse occurred.
Kalgı’s lawyer Sabri Güngen visited him in custody and photographed his visible injuries, including prominent bruising around the right eye and other marks of violence. Güngen alleges that 15 officers turned on him, beating him severely enough to crush his left foot, as evidenced by a medical report. Both Kalgı and Güngen lodged a formal complaint with the Siverek prosecution over the incidents. Following a court appearance at Siverek Court, where the sentence was formally read to him, Kalgı was transferred to Siverek T-Type Prison to begin serving his term.
Turkey’s police forces are already under international scrutiny due to ongoing protests sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on 19 March 2025. İmamoğlu, a leading opposition politician charged with corruption—a charge critics say is politically motivated—has drawn thousands to the streets in cities like Istanbul and Ankara. Reports of mass arrests and excessive force by police during these demonstrations have amplified global criticism.
