Hakkari governor says sorry for mistaken raid
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Rifat Başaran - Radikal
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 18, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - After spraying a house with bullets, throwing a smoke bomb and manhandling the residents, the police have since issued an apology and compensated for all damages.
The house was one of four houses in the southeastern province of Hakkari that were raided by police.
The provincial governor, Muammer Türker, said special force squads of the local police department staged an operation in the Çukurca region of Hakkari, targeting three houses on Feb. 3. A neighboring fourth house was also targeted during the operation accidentally.
The police then went in and manhandled the people in the house before conducting a search. There was widespread damage to the house, daily Radikal reported.
Three days after the operation, a delegation, including the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society party, or DTP, deputy Hamit Gelyani, visited the house. "When we entered the house, the gas smell was still strong. We saw empty bullet shells and empty smoke bomb canisters all over the house. It was like a war zone. Words cannot express what happened there," he said.
"We heard noises outside at around one or 2 a.m. Then they threw a smoke bomb inside and broke in through the door. They pushed us to the floor and stood on us. We were also kicked. Women and children were suffocating from the gas fumes. The police dragged out the children and brought smelling dogs inside," said Hacı Erdem, one of those in the house when the raid occurred.
Solid intelligence
Gov. Türker, speaking to Radikal, said the operation was based on solid intelligence gathered after the recent escalation of bomb attacks in Çukurca.
"The police were a bit more sensitive considering the risk of casualties and armed clashes. There could have been deaths if they did not behave that way. There were no injuries during the operation and this shows it was a success," he said.
He also said he had tried to find out if there could have been another way this matter was handled, but said: "This was not a routine house search. It was an operation."
Türker said three houses were the targets, but a neighboring fourth house was raided by mistake. "We apologized to the house owner and paid for all the damages incurred," he said.
The provincial governor, Muammer Türker, said special force squads of the local police department staged an operation in the Çukurca region of Hakkari, targeting three houses on Feb. 3. A neighboring fourth house was also targeted during the operation accidentally.
The police then went in and manhandled the people in the house before conducting a search. There was widespread damage to the house, daily Radikal reported.
Three days after the operation, a delegation, including the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society party, or DTP, deputy Hamit Gelyani, visited the house. "When we entered the house, the gas smell was still strong. We saw empty bullet shells and empty smoke bomb canisters all over the house. It was like a war zone. Words cannot express what happened there," he said.
"We heard noises outside at around one or 2 a.m. Then they threw a smoke bomb inside and broke in through the door. They pushed us to the floor and stood on us. We were also kicked. Women and children were suffocating from the gas fumes. The police dragged out the children and brought smelling dogs inside," said Hacı Erdem, one of those in the house when the raid occurred.
Solid intelligence
Gov. Türker, speaking to Radikal, said the operation was based on solid intelligence gathered after the recent escalation of bomb attacks in Çukurca.
"The police were a bit more sensitive considering the risk of casualties and armed clashes. There could have been deaths if they did not behave that way. There were no injuries during the operation and this shows it was a success," he said.
He also said he had tried to find out if there could have been another way this matter was handled, but said: "This was not a routine house search. It was an operation."
Türker said three houses were the targets, but a neighboring fourth house was raided by mistake. "We apologized to the house owner and paid for all the damages incurred," he said.