‘Metal pieces’ were removed from the body of the 16-year-old Kurdish shepherd, Muharrem Aksem, who had been found dead in a meadow in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority province of Urfa (Riha) on 24 March, Mezopotamya News Agency reported.
The meadow is in close proximity to the military target practice grounds of the Turkish special operation forces.
The preliminary autopsy report stated that ’12 metal pieces’ were removed from Aksem’s body, and that there were many scars on his face and body, and his right hand was missing.
Hatice Akıllı Öz, the lawyer of the family, said that there was no evaluation pertaining to a definitive cause of death in the report, and that they were waiting for an autopsy report from the forensic medicine institute in Istanbul for a more precise assessment.
Öz noted that the target practices in the area involved use of heavy weapons and bombs according to reports by locals.
She also underlined that the presence of the target practice grounds in the area was in contradiction with legislation since there was no warning sign, nor protective measures for civilians, and neither have the residents ever been officially informed that there was a target practice grounds nearby.
Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, MP for the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) brought the incident up in the Turkish parliament where he directed questions at the Turkish interior minister Süleyman Soylu.
“If the claims are true, has an investigation been launched?” he asked. “If they are true, was Muharrem Aksem killed by the police intentionally? Were bullets removed from Muharrem Aksem’s body and shells found around the body? Are these bullets registered in the inventory of the security forces?” he asked.
