MÊRDÎN - Stating that unlawful detentions were made during the trustee protests in Mêrdîn, ÖHD Branch Co-Chair Lawyer Lokman Emen stated that detainees were threatened with sexual assault. 

 

While the protests against the appointment of trustees to the Metropolitan Municipality of Mêrdîn (Mardin) and the municipalities of Êlih (Batman) and Xelfetî (Halfeti) by the Ministry of Interior on November 4 continue, many violations of rights took place during the protests. Around 30 people were detained and 5 people, including a child, were arrested during the protests and house raids in Mêrdîn. In addition to the criminalization of participating in the protests, the arrests were also justified by the fact that the detained minors were threatened and pressured, and their names were included in the reports they were made to sign.

 

'THREATS OF INFORMANT, TORTURE, SEXUAL ASSAULT'

 

Co-chair of the Mêrdîn branch of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) Lawyer Lokman Emen said that the appointment of trustees is against the law, but the right to protest is a constitutional right. Noting that more than 30 detentions have been made in Mêrdîn since the beginning of the process,  “The general situation of the detainees consists of exercising their right to peaceful protest. The grave situation is that almost all of the detainees are forced to be informants. Each person was forced to give the names of different people and threats were made that if they did not, they would be subjected to torture, sexual assaults and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison,” he said. 

 

'ILL-TREATMENT BECAME NORMALIZED'

 

Noting that as a result of the threats made, some minors were forced to make statements against people they did not know and had never seen before out of fear, Emen said that some of those detained were subjected to ill-treatment. Emen continued as follows: “We have also made applications regarding ill-treatment and torture. We also filed criminal complaints. But unfortunately, this situation has become normalized. We are making our call to both the parties in the parliament and the administrative institutions here. Torture is a crime against humanity and cannot be accepted in any way. Ill-treatment is a crime against humanity and unacceptable. This must be prevented. Citizens should not be prevented from exercising their right to peaceful protest. Unfortunately, the detentions continue one by one. We are also following the process regarding the detentions.”