Saturday Mother Dayan: 'Where are the perpetrators?'

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  • 14:28 15 September 2023
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ŞIRNEX - Saadet Dayan, who joined the Saturday Mothers after the murder of her husband Ebubekir Dayan in custody, said: "I am asking 'where are the perpetrators?' as much as I can." I will ask. "I will not forget what we were put through and I will hold them accountable."
 
The protest of the Saturday Mothers, who have been organizing a sit-in protest in Galatasaray Square every Saturday since 1995 and asking the perpetrators of their relatives who disappeared in custody, continues despite police violence, detention, pressure and obstacles. The protest is blocked without justification, despite the "violation" decision of the Constitutional Court.
 
Mothers and rights defenders who insist on their demonstrations despite all the pressures are beaten and detained every week.
 
One of the missing relatives is Saadet Dayan, who lives in the Hezex (İdil) district of Şirnex(Şırnak). Even though she cannot go to Galatasaray Square, Dayan has been chasing the murderers of her husband Ebubekir Dayan for 29 years.
 
DAYAN WENT TO THE SECURITY, AND NEVER RETURNED
 
Ebubekir Dayan, who was born in Cirehî village of Hezex, migrated to the district center with his family when their village was evacuated in 1980. Dayan, who graduated from Imam Hatip High School, became a target of the state with his family after he became aware of his Kurdish identity. Ebubekir Dayan, who married Meryem Dayan after graduating from university, then started working in Cizîr (Cizre) as a personnel of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. A mortar hit the house of Dayan, who was an imam at the Mishefa Reş Mosque in Cizîr, in 1991.
 
Dayan, who lost his wife here, was treated for a long time because of the shrapnel he received in his head. Dayan, who clung to life after treatment, later remarried. Dayan, who continued his duty as an imam and received death threats during this time, was called to Cizre Police Department in 1994; however, Dayan, who went to the police station, could not return home again.
 
REMAINS OF HIS HUSBANDS
 
Dayan's wife, Saadet Dayan, asked about her husband to the state with her 3-month-old child and days later, she learned that her husband, who was tortured for 12 days, had been murdered. The police said to Dayan, "Your husband had a heart attack and died." Dayan, who recognized his husband, whose body was unrecognizable, from the mark on her face, was left with his duty card, ID card, a wristwatch, a matchbox, a beret and a handkerchief.
 
DAYAN COULD NOT RECOGNIZE HER HUSBAND DUE TO TORTURE
 
Stating that she went to the hospital with the guidance of some of his relatives 13 days after his wife went to the police, Dayan said: “The hospital was under blockade. I asked the hospital officer about my wife. So he went and asked the police if such a person had been brought. The police came and said, 'My condolences, your husband had a heart attack.' At that moment I lost myself, I didn't believe it. The person who washed my husband's body was his close friend. Even he couldn't recognize my husband because of the torture he was subjected to. I went and looked at the body and I didn't recognize him. I recognized him because of the mole on his face. After the police handed over the body and his belongings, they said, 'We did not see her husband and did not call him.' I can never forget that day."
 
'I WILL NOT FORGET WHAT HAPPENED'
 
Stating that she will not give up looking for the perpetrators of her husband as long as she breathes,  Dayan said: "The White Tauruses were following us until we took his body to the village. I still do not believe that that body is Abu Bakr's body. They dehumanized him in 12 days. It was like they took a dead person out of the grave and showed it to us. He went to the police station to say, "Why are you asking about me?" but he never returned. I lost my husband in 1994, but I still say peace. People are still being made to disappear. We are Saturday Mothers, we want the perpetrators to be revealed. Every day I keep my eyes on the door and say 'maybe one day he will come'. My husband was 80 kilos, but he had become 40 kilos. "Where are the perpetrators?" as much as I can. I will ask. "As long as I exist, I will not forget what we have been put through and I will hold them accountable."