Caner Ağurtan, a 28-year-old villager was injured as a result of gunfire from soldiers whilst he was looking for his lost sheep in the Aşağı Gülderen (Nezrava Jorî) neighbourhood of the Çaldıran district of Van (Wan). He also stated that he was kicked for no reason by the soldiers for minutes-on-end after he had been injured.
Villagers living near the border of east and south-east Turkey are occasionally shot by soldiers for no reason. Most of the time, no one is punished for these rights violations and no investigations are initiated.
Ağurtan was shot by the soldiers in his right knee around 07.30 in the morning and confirmed that the soldiers kicked him whilst he was wounded. He spoke to MA about the incident on the day he was shot.
“Our sheep disappeared the night before I was shot. I went out and started looking for the sheep around 06:00 in the morning. An hour later, the soldiers opened fire on me near the border. A bullet hit my knee. When I was injured, I shouted to them: ‘Take me to the hospital'”. However, his calls for help remained unanswered and he had to stagger back on his own for 10 to 15 minutes after he was shot.
“Then, the soldiers came upon me. One or two of them even kicked me. I said: ‘Don’t do it: I’m injured’, but they didn’t listen”, he said.
Ağurtan was hospitalised at Yüzüncü Yıl University Medical Centre. He stated he would file a criminal complaint against the soldiers. “I don’t accept this injustice. They shot me: I’m innocent. I just went out to look for my sheep. I will complain about the soldiers”.
