‘Dropped from military helicopter,’ Şiban taken to military hospital

* Photos: Anadolu Agency (AA), Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) branch in Turkey's Kurdish-majority province of Van has made a statement about Osman Şiban and Servet Turgut, who previously announced that they were dropped from a helicopter after being detained and tortured by soldiers in Çatak.

CLICK - Investigation into allegations of dropping from helicopter

Sharing a message about the issue on its social media account, the ÖHD Van Branch has stated the following:

"Taken into custody with the allegation that he had been dropped from a helicopter in the district of Çatak in Van on September 11 and discharged from the [Van] Regional Hospital 10 days later, Osman Şiban was taken to the Military Hospital with his house raided at 5 o'clock in the morning. We are not allowed to enter the hospital now.

"Only the colleague [lawyer] who is a relative of the family has been allowed to see Osman Şiban. As far as the hospital has informed, Şiban will undergo tests for coronavirus, blood sugar and blood pressure, which were not carried out in the Regional Hospital. No legal justification is provided and the decision of supervision is not shown to us."

Van'ın Çatak ilçesinde 11 Eylül'de helikopterden atılma iddiası ile gözaltına alınan, 10 gün sonra Bölge Hastanesi'nden taburcu edilen Osman Şiban sabah 5'te ev baskını ile Askeri Hastane'ye getirildi.

Şu an hastaneye alınmıyoruz.#HelikopterdenAttılar

— ÖHD Van (@OhdVan) September 22, 2020

What happened?

Taken into custody by the soldiers who launched an operation in the Çatak district of Van province on September 11, Osman Şiban (50) and Servet Turgut (55) were found in the intensive care unit of the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital two days later.

Speaking about the issue, Osman Şiban said that he and Servet Turgut were dropped from a helicopter after they had been detained and tortured by soldiers in Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Van.

As reported by Cemil Uğur from the Mezopotamya Agency (MA), the hospital epicrisis report of Şiban and Turgut has been completed.

The report has indicated that Şiban was taken to the Van Training and Research Hospital "with complaints of injury after falling from a helicopter."

While the "Intensive Care" section of the report has referred to "falling from a higher place" as a complaint, the report has further said that "they were brought to the emergency department by paramedics upon being informed by the security personnel after they had fallen from a higher place."

In a written statement about the allegation that two people were dropped from a military helicopter, the Governor's Office of Van has announced that a legal and administrative investigation has been launched. (EMK/SD)