Turkey: Fair trial for nine inhabitants of Balveren village in Southeastern Anatolia

Mustafa Sidar, Yasin Istek (Islek), Mahmut Zeyrek, Halit Gokalp, Emin Altan, Addullah Bayram, Ahmet Ibran, Ibrahim Bayik and Abdulvahap Sidar were arrested following the killing of five people near Balveren village in June 1989. All alleged they were tortured while held in incommunicado detention which in some cases exceeded the maximum 30 day-period permitted by emergency legislation. They were brought to trial on 3 November in Diyarbakir State Security Court and charged under Article 25 of the Penal Code of activities for the illegal Kurdish Workers Party. All defendants alleged that their statements were extracted under torture, but the court has taken no action to investigate these allegations. The trial continues at the end of December.

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