January 27, 2006 A police officer, Hakan Açıl, kidnapped on October 9 last year by the Kurdish organization PKK, The Workers’ Party of Kurdistan, has been returned back to Turkey. The father of the kidnapped officer Muammer Açıl, the Deputy General President of Human Rights Association, IHD, Kiraz Biçici, and, the Deputy General President of […]
January 27, 2006
A police officer, Hakan Açıl, kidnapped on October 9 last year by the Kurdish organization PKK, The Workers’ Party of Kurdistan, has been returned back to Turkey.
The father of the kidnapped officer Muammer Açıl, the Deputy General President of Human Rights Association, IHD, Kiraz Biçici, and, the Deputy General President of MAZLUMDER, a human rights association, Şehmuz Ülek had gone to Northern Iraq to claim the officer Muammer Açıl from the PKK.
The General President of IHD, the Human Rights Association, Yusuf Alataş, held a press release and said Muammer Açıl had been taken back in Northern Iraq and was expected to be released after the Gendarmerie completes the questioning at Habur border crossing.
Yusuf Alataş said the officer and of the members of the committee that went to claim him were in good health and added, “We believe we have done the right thing. We are happy that everything turned out to be positive. We are happy to take the challenges necessary to be taken to protect the human rights, whatever they are.”
The Interior Minister had said, ‘go to the Human Rights Association’
The father of the kidnapped officer had asked the interior ministry to intervene, but the Secretary of Interior Abdülkadir Aksu had said, “We can not do anything, go and talk to the Human Rights Association, IHD.”
PKK, on the other hand, had said to Fırat Haber Ajansı, the Firat News agency, that no communication had taken place with the Turkish authorities. PKK said they would have done whatever was necessary to release the officer if there was a demand from the other side. However, the photos of the officer had been made available in the camp he was being held to the media and he seemed healthy during his stay there.
Previously, a Turkish soldier, Coşkun Kırandi had also been kidnapped, and he too had been released after interventions by the human rights associations. But, the 4-member committee that had gone to secure the release of the soldier and 5 journalists observing the process had been arrested and brought to trial by Turkey for “making propaganda for an illegal organization.”
Sendika.org
G.Y.
