AMED - Drawing attention that violence and violations have increased in home raids, İHD Amed Branch President Ercan Yılmaz said: “Such unlawful detentions should not be taken for granted. We called on all legal means to be used.

 

Rights violations occur in regions where military operations continue. The military blockade in Bilbês village of Şirnex's Elkê (Beytüşşebap) district and Bana village of Basa (Güçlükonak) district has been continuing for months. While citizens are not allowed to go to their vineyards and gardens, many people have been detained during home raids so far. Most recently, some houses were raided in the Zorava rural neighborhood of Sur district of Amed in the morning hours of September 21. While entry and exit to the neighborhood was prohibited, citizens whose houses were raided on the grounds of "reporting" were detained and released after 4 days of detention. Citizens who were pointed at guns during the raid were subjected to insults.

 

Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed Branch President Ercan Yılmaz and Amed Bar Association Vice President Mehdi Özdemir draw attention that ill-treatment has increased recently in house raids.

 

ÖZDEMİR: THE RAID IS TAKING PLACE WITHOUT SUSPICION

 

Drawing attention that house raids, detentions and arrests took place without "suspicion of crime", especially in the cities of the region, Amed Bar Association Vice President Mehdi Özdemir said: “We have received information that the investigation processes involved an excessive search, and subsequently, people were subjected to unfounded accusations, deprived of their freedom and detained. Prohibitory provisions regarding how the search will be carried out, the property of persons, and practices that violate the prohibition of torture, inhumane and ill-treatment during the search are fundamental rights; however, in this sense, we see that the law enforcement officers who carry out the search carry out some practices that will violate these rights."

 

Underlining that people's homes can be searched with the decision of the prosecutor's office within the scope of "reasonable suspicion" and that the "principle of proportionality" must be observed during the search, Özdemir stated that the principle of "proportionality" was violated during the search process during the house raids in Zorava. Özdemir also stated that the detentions and house searches carried out in Zorava were unlawful.

 

'VIOLATIONS MUST BE ENDED'

 

Stating that banning entry and exit from the village during search operations is a "violation of freedom of movement", Özdemir said: "Law enforcement officers cannot make decisions to the extent that they would violate a fundamental right. In Turkey, the restriction of entry and exit to certain settlements can be taken by the real estate administrator, which is actually an administrative authority, or this can be done by court decision. De facto making such a decision by law enforcement officers constitutes a violation of freedom of movement for citizens. When we look at it from this perspective, this practice, which violates fundamental rights, must be ended as soon as possible. Raids on people's homes and violations of fundamental rights in the cities of the region, based on unfounded accusations without suspicion of crime, must be stopped. As a bar association, we will provide legal support if people apply when they are detained upon certain notification texts, without suspicion of a crime."

 

YILMAZ: A VIOLATION TOOK PLACE IN THE SAME PLACE

 

İHD Amed Branch President Ercan Yılmaz also noted that there were serious human rights violations in almost all detentions and searches carried out by the law enforcement. Stating that they received many applications regarding these, Yılmaz said: “Similar allegations have been received in this village before. Non-governmental organizations, including us, visited the village and we worked on reporting. Last week, security forces raided Zorava village, and in our communication with the families, we were informed about the practice of using people as shields. It is a very serious allegation that the inside of the houses in the village were videotaped over the phone and given to the security forces. The forces that are the subject of the investigation here are the security forces. If there is an operation and search warrant, they must carry it out themselves. Forcing a citizen to do this, in its simplest form, constitutes a violation of the person's right to freedom and security."

 

Stating that the curfew is not in accordance with the law, Yılmaz said: “We looked at the official websites of both Diyarbakır Governorship and Sur District Governorate, there is no decision regarding the curfew. Since 2016, curfews have been declared in accordance with the Provincial Administrative Law. This is also unlawful."

 

'STOP ILLEGAL IMPLEMENTATION'

 

Yılmaz called on citizens who are exposed to unlawfulness in such practices to apply to IHD and said: “It may be difficult for people to reach us in rural areas, but if they can reach us even with the smallest communication source, we, as IHD, can take all the legal initiatives we can on this issue. Such unlawful detentions should not be taken for granted. All legal means should be used. Our call to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the government is that such implementations should be stopped.”

 

MA / Eylem Akdağ