Medya News
Daily News
Breaking News
Subscribe
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily News
MULTIMEDIA
Ecology
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily News
MULTIMEDIA
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Medya News

Turkey’s disregard for the dead not new: Fathers speak out

Delivering bones to the deceased's family in a box as forensic property is not an isolated or new practice in Turkey. Two victims recall the ill-treatment they received, while the Diyarbakır Bar Association filed a complaint on the grounds that this practice violates international norms of respect for and protection of the dead.

2:20 pm 31/08/2022
A A
Turkey’s disregard for the dead not new: Fathers speak out
Share post

The bones of Hakan Arslan, who was killed during the curfew and military operations in Dec 2015 in Diyarbakır’s (Amed) Sur district, seven years later were delivered to his father in a plastic bag.

Hakan Arslan’s father Ali Rıza Arslan did not realise he would have to collect his son’s remains from the courthouse. He had been expecting to receive his son’s body from the Forensic Medicine morgue in a coffin, he told BBC Turkish. “There was neither a prosecutor nor a judge, nor an officer. Somebody took the box with the bones of my 28-year-old son out of the closet and handed it to me,” he said, “I don’t remember how I received the box containing my son’s bones, I don’t remember how I took it, I was devastated.”

The Aslans are not the first Kurdish family to receive the remains of a relative years later. Similar events have been going on since the 1990s when the Kurdish conflict was at its peak.

A Kurdish father who received the bones of his 12-year-old son 20 years after his death in custody, spoke to Mezopotamya Agency.

Davut Altınkaynak was 12 when he was detained in Mardin (Mêrdîn) in 1995, along with eight others in a house raid by Turkey’s Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-terrorism Department (JİTEM). Among the eight was Davut’s mother, who later said the last time she saw her son alive was when he was hanged on a torture rack in the police station.

Remains were discovered in a well in 2015, and in May 2016 a DNA analysis revealed the bones belonged to Davut Altınkaynak. Afterwards, the prosecutor’s office delivered the boy’s bones to his family in a sack.

On the same day that Altınkaynak’s Father received the morbid delivery, another delivery arrived to the Akyön family home. Remains of Nedim Akyön, 16 years old, were delivered in another sack.

Both families requested the prosecutor’s office to maintain the remains in proper storage a little longer as they prepared the funerals, but the prosecutor’s office rejected this request.

“We signed the delivery note. They brought us two white sacks with our children’s names written on them. They took our children alive, and delivered them in a sack,” Altınkaynak said.

“They should have given those bones back in coffins, in a humane manner. But they don’t consider us Kurds human beings,” the father said. “I will never forget. If Davut had not been a Kurd, they would have given the perpetrator a life sentence. But Davut was a Kurdish boy. They thought this was what my son deserved, and what Hakan Arslan deserved.”

A prosecutor at the chief public prosecutor’s office in Diyarbakır was responsible for the recording and processing of the human remains in question as forensic property and evidence. The Diyarbakır Bar Association, stating that this practice is against the law, filed a complaint with the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) about the prosecutor who filed the remains.

Delivery of human remains in this manner is unacceptable “due to humanitarian law norms and social, cultural and religious values”, the bar association said in their petition. “Domestic and international law state in detail how such deliveries should be made, respecting the person’s memory and protecting the right to be buried. This treatment towards the deceased constitutes the crime of torture and ill-treatment. This practice violates the norms of respect for and protection of the dead, and the right to a decent burial.”

According to the Human Rights Association (İHD), there have been at least 900 cases of enforced disappearance in Turkey. In addition, the İHD reports that over 3,000 victims of extrajudicial killings are buried in 253 separate sites.

 


Share post
Tags: Trending

Related Posts

Solidarity vigil joins hunger strikers against PKK leader’s isolation in Turkey

Solidarity vigil joins hunger strikers against PKK leader’s isolation in Turkey

December 4, 2023
Daily News: 4 December 2023

Daily News: 4 December 2023

December 4, 2023
Workers rally against ‘war budget’, demand democratic allocation in Turkey

Workers rally against ‘war budget’, demand democratic allocation in Turkey

December 4, 2023
Unidentified gunmen attack Syrian Democratic Forces points in Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Unidentified gunmen attack Syrian Democratic Forces points in Deir ez-Zor, Syria

December 4, 2023
Turkey: Legal closure in 1993 Vartinis Case denied by statute of limitations

Turkey: Legal closure in 1993 Vartinis Case denied by statute of limitations

December 4, 2023
Protests in London against police raid on Kurdish Community Centre

Protests in London against police raid on Kurdish Community Centre

December 4, 2023

Videos

Former senior State Department adviser urges political approach, PKK removal from Western terror lists
POLITICS

Former senior State Department adviser urges political approach, PKK removal from Western terror lists

December 3, 2023

All News

Solidarity vigil joins hunger strikers against PKK leader’s isolation in Turkey

Daily News: 4 December 2023

Workers rally against ‘war budget’, demand democratic allocation in Turkey

Unidentified gunmen attack Syrian Democratic Forces points in Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Turkey: Legal closure in 1993 Vartinis Case denied by statute of limitations

Protests in London against police raid on Kurdish Community Centre

medya-newslogo-light

Impressum

About us

Privacy Policy

Subscribe
Contact

 

No Result
View All Result
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Culture & Art
  • Daily News
  • Breaking News
  • Newsletter
  • Authors
  • Podcast

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Get the Medya News’s newsletters straight to your inbox
Loading
Contact