Çatak helicopter incident
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On 11 September 2020 two Kurdish villagers were arrested in their village near Catak district of Van province and two hours after were hospitalized. Servet Turgut's medical report stated injury to "unspecified fall" and Osman Siban to "fall from a high location/fall from a helicopter". Witnesses stated that they were healthy upon arrest when taken on a helicopter after.[1][2][3]
Siban was discharged and his treatment "completed" on 20 September 2020, but the very next day at 5:30am he was taken from his home to a military hospital, ordered by the Chief Public Prosecutor in Van.[4] A planned delegation of HDP’s including Parliamentary Spokesperson, several deputies, executive board and party assembly members to investigate the incident arrived the same day. The police had surrounded members of the delegation which wanted to make a press statement after their visit, but the press were prevented from publishing.[5] Siban aged 50 at the time, suffering from "dizzy spells and memory loss" since being discharged from the military hospital.[6][7]
A day after arresting Siban, the governors office of Van released a statement stating that one "got wounded by falling off the cliff" (referring to Turgut) and both are "considered to be aiding and abetting the organization members." referring to the PKK.[8]
Turgut since being in a coma died aged 55 on 30 September 2020 due to his injuries.[9][10]