Saturday Mothers meet for 1027th time, seek justice for Yetişen disappeared under custody

Duvar English

Turkey's Saturday Mothers, a group who has been holding vigils for their relatives who disappeared or were killed in suspicious circumstances in the 1990s, held its 1027th gathering on Nov. 30 at Istanbul’s iconic Galatasaray Square.

The group sought justice for Ahmet Yetişen this week, who was forcibly disappeared under detention in 1994.

In a statement read by Human Rights Association Istanbul branch head Gülseren Yoleri, the group said forced disappearances not only affect the families but also the whole society, creating “a deep sense of insecurity.”

“The denial of this act by the official authorities is a clear violation of the prohibition of torture for the relatives of the disappeared. The unbearable pain of not knowing the fate of their loved ones for years is the most severe form of torture, and the tradition of impunity that accompanies denial renders the legal struggle futile and turns the process into torture,” the group added.

Accordingly, the security forces raided Yetişen’s home back in November 1994 twice, but could not find him and took his 13-year-old son Hanifi with them in Batman province.

They were later able to find Yetişen, a father of seven, and detained him. 

“Hanifi, who was released the next day, said that he had seen his father in a strappado in detention and that he had also been subjected to torture. After that day, Ahmet Yetişen was never heard from again,” the group said. 

Yetişen’s family applied to several institutions, including the parliament, prime ministry, presidency, judiciary, police forces, but could not learn anything about the father’s whereabouts. 

Their neighbor A.B., who was detained about 11 months after the incident, said that during the interrogation they were shown photographs of Ahmet Yetişen's severely tortured dead body and threatened with the same fate if not speak out.

The family’s later attempts to the judiciary yielded no results. 

“In our 1027th week, we call on the judicial authorities to take action and fulfill their duty to shed light on all aspects of Ahmet Yetişen's disappearance and to identify and prosecute those responsible. No matter how many years pass, we will not stop demanding justice for Ahmet Yetişen and all our disappeared and reminding the state that it must abide by universal legal norms,” the group concluded.

Since 1995, the Saturday Mothers have staged a sit-in at Galatasaray Square, demanding answers about their loved ones who disappeared in custody and calling for the prosecution of those responsible.