ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — One of two Kurdish men thrown from a Turkish military helicopter in Van province three weeks ago died of his injuries on Wednesday morning, according to a Kurdish news agency.
Servet Turgut, 55, and Osman Siban, 50, were arrested during a counter-terror operation on September 11. A medical report confirmed that they had been injured after being thrown from a military helicopter.
Turgut, a father-of-seven, was admitted into intensive care at Van Regional Training and Research Hospital shortly after the incident and succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, the pro-Kurdish agency Mezopotamya reported.
His death was also reported by Firat News Agency.
Over the weekend, Amnesty International urged Ankara to immediately conduct an “independent and impartial” investigation into the matter at hand.
“These claims must be immediately investigated in an independent and impartial way, and persons suspected of carrying out the alleged torture or other ill-treatment must be brought to justice with a fair trial,” read a statement from Amnesty.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) also last week called on the Turkish parliament to investigate the incident.
Siban’s lawyers told Bianet news agency that their client has lost his memory, only recalling that he was detained and dropped from a helicopter. He has been discharged from hospital and has returned home to Mersin.
