The United Nations (UN) Forced or Involuntary Disappearances Working Group informed the families about the latest situation regarding the applications made about the disappeared persons in the 1990s with a letter written on 21 August. The response Turkey gave for the 9 of the 30 people also took place in the letter. Turkey's response stated that Fehmi Tosun who was forced into dissappearance in the 90's had fled abroad while Abdulselam Çelik was dead according to the registery.

 

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

 

One of the people lost Turkey gave information about is Ahmet Üstün. He was taken into custody while his family was watching on March 15, 1993 in the Cizre district of Şırnak and couldn't be heard from again. The annottion on the case writes:  "Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Cizre Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the victims (the missing person's mother and son) blood samples were taken. (2016/3957) It was sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for DNA analysis. The Institute reported that by comparing DNA samples of unidentified bodies recorded in a special database, no matches were found, but that they would inform the Prosecutor's Office whether there were any matches in future investigations. The case is still ongoing and the investigations into the alleged disappearance of the person are continuing."

 

Evaluating the response given to the UN, his mother Fadile Üstün stated that the UN should continue to pressure Turkey in order to learn the whereabouts of her son. Mother Fadile Üstün told that their house was raided by the police, searched and her son was taken away on March 15, 1993. Üstün told that she explained to the police that her son is innocent and the police told them they would just take his statement and then let him go but he never came back.

 

Stating that she kept calling the Cizre Security Directorate to find her son, said: "We looked everywhere. We learned that he was at the Cizre Security Directorate. But then they told me he was taken to somewhere else. We have been searching for him ever since. Someone told that they saw him at a cell in the police station. He also told that he saw the police officers giving food to Ahmet a few times but he said he couldn't hear his voice after 3 days, that he went completely silent. We have been looking for him ever since. His father died before finding his son."

 

Protesting Turkey's response to UN, Mother Üstün said: "How can they not know where they killed him? How can they not know where he is? They are lying. They know how to kill people and don't know where they dump the body, is it? My son was innocent. UN must continue to pressure Turkey to at least find his bones."

 

MA / Müjdat Can