BATMAN - Yunuş Bağış, attorney of Yahya Karabaş who was tortured in the police station and was arrested afterwards, told that the prosecutor's office was trying to produce a crime that did not exist.

 

15 people were battered and detained during the raid on Timoq (Gümüşörgü) village in Batman on March 31. The soldiers put a sack over the head of Yahya Karabaş and tortured him for 4 days. Karabaş, who wanted to receive an assault report after he was released, was not given a report.

 

VILLAGE UNDER POLICE BLOCKADE

 

The village of Timoq, which has been blockaded since March 29 and later declared forbidden, is still under blockade. Citizens are not allowed in or out of the village. Karabaş, who was detained and released again after the torture he suffered reflected in the press, was detained for the third time on April 15 and got arrested. Yunus Bağış attorney of Karabaş, who was arrested by the Batman Criminal Court of Peace on charges of "possessing an unlicensed weapon", "possessing and obtaining explosives" and "being a member of a terrorist organisation", spoke to the Mezopotamya Agency (MA).

 

HE WAS SUBJECTED TO SEVERE TORTURE

 

Bagis, who is also the branch manager of the Human Rights Association (IHD), drew attention to the day the torture took place and said, "Karabaş was subjected to severe torture. Although he was the victim of the incident, he was arrested on charges of 'membership in a terrorist organisation', 'possession and supply of explosives' due to the discovery of an old weapon 46 meters from his house. In the first detention, a judicial control decision was given. On the 12th, the prosecutor's office requested his arrest. Karabaş, who was released from the judge's office, went to the police station as he should have due to the judicial control decision on April 15 and was arrested despite the lack of concrete evidence.”

 

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE

 

Emphasizing that the prosecutor's office insisted on arresting Karabaş, Bağış said, "The prosecutor's office is stubbornly and persistently trying to create evidence for 'membership in a terrorist organisation'. According to the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), a person is prosecuted if there is evidence. The prosecutor must reach the accused through evidence. However in this case, the prosecutor is trying to reach the evidence through the accused. This is against the law. When all this is put together, it shows that the prosecutor's office is persistently trying to create evidence. There were no evidence when he was detained the first time, there was no evidence when he was detained the third time."

 

THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IS PRODUCING A CRIME THAT DOES NOT EXIST

 

Stating that the Prosecutor's Office is trying to produce 3 different crimes from an old gun that was found 46 meters from Karabaş's house, Bağış said, "There is a condition for concrete evidence for a person to be tried and punished. There is nothing concrete in this file to constitute evidence of 'membership in a terrorist organisation'. The person is responsible for his own home or garden. He cannot be held responsible for a material located at a distance of 46 meters, for which it is unknown by whom it was placed and for what purpose. There is no evidence to constitute 'membership in an organisation' here. The prosecution acted unlawfully and demanded the arrest of Karabaş.”

 

NO INVESTIGATIN WAS LAUNCHED AGAINST THE TORTURE

 

Reminding that they filed a criminal complaint with the Batman Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on April 11 regarding the torture Karabaş was subjected to, Bağış noted that until now there was no law enforcement agency that had an investigation or prosecution. Bağış said, “Unfortunately, the law enforcement personnel is not investigated for allegations of torture. This never happened. This is happening in disregard of international law. This will continue as long as the policy of impunity continues. The policy of impunity brings with it new tortures cases.”

 

'THEY ARE HIDING SOMETHING IN THAT VILLAGE'

 

Stating that Karabaş was arrested while his eyes were still bloodshot and before he got better, Barış said that they would appeal against the arrest. Speaking about the situation in the village, Bağış said: “The village has been under blockade since March 29. We can't get reliable information about what happened in the village. If they are not hiding anything in there, they should let us in so that we could collect information. However neither the MPs not the rights defenders are allowed in the village. We will prepare a report when we are able to enter the village to share with the public."

 

 

MA / Fethi Balaman-Eylem Akdağ