🔴 Security forces detain, torture Kurdish pastoralist family, burn their tents in Turkey.#SecurityForces | #MilitaryOperation | #TwitterKurdshttps://t.co/PMVIwy43Zz pic.twitter.com/Pm4xYBSxo6
— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) August 28, 2023
A delegation led by Green Left Party MP Adalet Kaya visited Silvan (Farqîn) district of Diyarbakır (Amed), a predominantly Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey, to investigate the detention and alleged torture of a nomadic pastoralist family. The findings contradict the government’s official narrative, revealing no signs of an armed conflict and raising serious concerns about the mistreatment of civilians.
On 26 August, soldiers blockaded the Bameyda neighbourhood in Silvan, detaining five members of a Kurdish family. The family, known for their pastoralist lifestyle, were allegedly tortured during their detention. The incident gained public attention when photos showing two men from the detained family, handcuffed and appearing to be tortured, were shared online by several social media accounts run by Turkish nationalists with ties to security forces. One such account named “harp mühendisi” (war engineer) mockingly referred to the detained civilians as “Comrades feeling the heat in Diyarbakır Silvan.”
Adalet Kaya, an MP from the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, was part of a delegation that visited Silvan on Sunday, the following day. “An attack against civilians took place, and the crime of torture was clearly seen in the photographs published,” Kaya stated. She emphasised that they found no evidence to support the claim of an armed clash in the area. “No matter what, the prohibition of torture is an issue that should never be violated,” she added.
The delegation also visited the area where the Kurdish pastoralist family’s tents were burnt down, although it remains unclear whether the tents were set on fire during the alleged clash or by the soldiers. After listening to the accounts of people whose relatives were detained, the delegation left the area, promising to share their investigation report with the public later.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya had previously shared a drone image of the operation, stating that three people died and four were detained. However, the delegation’s findings challenge the official account, raising questions that demand further investigation.
