DİYARBAKIR - Human skeletons and bones were found near Saraykapı Prison which was once known as a JİTEM base in Sur district.

 

Human skeletons and bones were found in the old Saraykapı Prison, which was used as an interrogation and execution center by JİTEM in the 1990s, in the Sur district of Diyarbakır. According to the information obtained, human bones were found during the excavation work done by the YSO Construction Company.

 

Company claimed that the bones found during the excavation belonged to animals and that the bones should be discarded with the rest of the excavation. The bones were loaded to the truck and taken away. It is not yet known where the bones were brought to. 

 

Working on site at the time when the bones were found, one of the workers, Ahmet Kayar told Mesopotamia Agency (MA) what happened.

 

THEY WANTED THE BONES TO BE DISCARDED

 

Stating that he was working at site 75-76 in February, Kayar told that bone fragments were found during the work with done with the earth movers. Kayar said: "Bones kept coming up. They wanted us to discard them. We didn't have the heart to throw them in the garbage so we objected. They told us that the bones were animal bones. Then we started to throw them in the garbage."

 

Underlining that they were working so close to the prison at the time, Kayar said: "They told us that if bodies were found there, the work will be disrupted. Then we found to skeletons." Pointing out that they showed the skeletons to some acheologists working in the area, Kayar said: "The archeologists told that the skeletons belonged to two men. There were more bones and ashes beneath those skeletons. We asked who those bones belonged to but they didn't answer."

 

HISTORICAL SITES ARE BEING DAMAGED

 

Noting that the historical texture was damaged by construction equipment during the excavation, Kayar said: "A history disappeared as a result of the excavation. There were ancient aqueducts. They were constantly damaging such structures just so that the work of the construction site would not be disrupted. We found a historical pool. We covered it again so that the pool would not be seen. A structural framework was built on it. They were covering it up and causing serious damage to the historical and cultural heritage."

 

JITEM BASE

 

The place, also known as the Central Closed Prison, was used as an interrogation center of JİTEM in the 1990s. In January 2012, human bones were found during excavations at the base, which was shown as the address of those who were abducted and disappeared in the region in the 1990s and those who lost their lives as a result of murders by unknown assailants. Excavations were expanded by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, but no further steps were taken regarding the fate of the bones.

 

 

MA / Müjdat Can