Child's testimony reveals brutal torture by police in Turkey's Diyarbakir

Child's testimony reveals brutal torture by police in Turkey's Diyarbakir
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The testimony of 14-year-old Y.D. revealed that police tortured the boy for 40 minutes in the Lice district of southeastern Diyarbakir, beating him with a rifle butt and trying to strangle him with a scarf.

The testimony of a 14-year-old child who was tortured by police on Newroz Day revealed the horrific ordeal he was put through in the Lice district of southeastern Diyarbakir province in Turkey.

According to the statement published by journalist Ismail Saymaz on the Halk TV website, the child, identified by his initials Y.D., told the prosecutor that he was walking to buy bread on March 22 when a police vehicle began chasing him.

Y.D. tried to escape and fled into a building, but the police officers broke open the door and entered the premises. They then forcibly took the child into custody and placed him in an armored police vehicle.

During the drive, the police officers hit Y.D. with the butt of a long-barreled gun in several places on his body. They also tied his hands to his neck with a scarf and attempted to strangle him by pulling the scarf tight.The police officers recorded a video of the incident and forced the child to curse the Kurdish people and the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, while also reciting Turkish nationalist poetry.

The torture continued for approximately 40 minutes, during which the police officers threatened to kill the child if he did not comply with their demands. After the torture, they dumped Y.D. into a pit and left him there with his hands and feet bound.

The child managed to free his hands and feet with a stone and eventually made his way to the Lice State Hospital with the help of a passerby. Y.D. suffered physical and psychological trauma as a result of the torture he endured.

The Turkish authorities have since launched an investigation into the incident and have detained the police officers involved in the torture of Y.D.