It's been a year since two citizens were thrown from a helicopter, no progress in the case

Cemil UĞUR

It has been a year since Servet Turgut and Osman Siban were thrown out from a flying helicopter after being detained by the soldiers who were on an operation in the Catak district of Van.

Reminding that the confidentiality decision brought to the investigation into the incident is still ongoing, the family lawyer Baran Bilici demanded for the investigation to be turned into a lawsuit, saying, "As the process drags on, the evidence can be spoliated, and the personnel involved in the incident are assigned to different regions."

WE DON'T KNOW ITS CONTENTS

Bilici emphasized that they have been making repeated criminal complaints since the incident happened: “When the investigation started, we presented the witnesses’ names to the prosecution office. Then we made sure that the witnesses were present and their statements were heard. Not long after the incident as it was still fresh, we had our witnesses give statements. The witnesses who saw Servet Turgut and Osman Siban being detained have been interviewed. Together with our colleagues, we filed the evidence we could find. We have requested that some deficiencies in the investigation to be addressed. But we don't know how much of this has been done because there's a confidentiality order for the investigation. We want the Public Prosecutor's Office to speed up this process.”

"FAMILIES WANT WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BE DONE"

Bilici stated that the failure to conclude the year-long investigation has caused public mistrust of the judiciary, and that prolonged investigation will lead to the disappearance of evidence. Bilici stated that they did not know the contents of the file because of the confidentiality order. “Because these kinds of incidents happen frequently in the region. And the people involved in this kind of thing are being exonerated in some form. Despite the fact that serious crimes have been committed, we see that law enforcement personnel that are involved in crime are exonerated by the protectionist logic of the state. It's a very grave event, families expect what is necessary to be done. They want what's legally required to be done.”

"RIGHT TO LIFE VIOLATED"

Adding that Servet Turgut's right to life was violated, Bilici said: "We know that the article 17 of the Constitution and the right to life guaranteed by the  Constitutional Court (AYM) been violated. It is important that those guilty in this case are prosecuted locally, and then the ECHR decides for Turkey to convict those guilty of this grave incident. However, if the process is dragged out in this way, we will apply to the supreme court, the AYM and the ECHR due to the lengthening of the investigation. It's been a year. We'll assess this situation with the friends on the case and do what's necessary. Because as the process drags on, the evidence can be obfuscated and the personnel involved are appointed elsewhere. A year from now, when you get to these people and ask how it happened, a lot of things will have been forgotten and it will be less likely to get to the concrete truth. That's why we want the trial to begin without further extending the investigation any longer." (Van/MA)