More than 50 individuals have been subjected to four days of interrogation before being sent to prison awaiting trial in the course of an investigation led by the prosecution in Turkey’s Kurdish majority province of Bitlis (Bedlîs).
The 50 were among 110 people, including women and children, detained on charges of assisting an illegal organisation during house raids in several districts of Bitlis and Van (Wan) on 28 November.
Mezopotamya Agency reported that some detainees were subjected to violence during their detention at the Bitlis Provincial Police Department. Furthermore, they were prevented from seeing lawyers due to a confidentiality order on the case, and many were questioned without legal representation.
Arrest warrants were issued for a further 50-plus individuals after the first group had been questioned by the prosecution and the judiciary.
During one operation in a village in Bitlis, the home of a 70-year-old visually impaired citizen was mistakenly raided due to a false tip. The soldiers allegedly broke doors and windows during hours of searches. After realising the mistake, the soldiers reportedly threatened the family to prevent them from lodging complaints.