Mehmet Ali Polat, an 18-year-old who was detained and beaten by the police on October 18, cannot register at the Faculty of Medicine, although he was qualified, due to a travel ban preventing him from leaving the country.
BOLD – Mahmut Polat’s house in Karaköprü, Şanlıurfa Province was raided by police on October 18, 2019.
Having traces of torture on his body due to the incident that took place in the presence of his two younger siblings, Mehmet Ali Polat was released with a ban on leaving the country. Polat, who qualified in the exam for the Faculty of Medicine of Baku University in Azerbaijan, cannot register due to the ban.
As in the previous events, the police officers filed a complaint against the family on the ground that the family resisted them and that the marks of assault had been caused by the family’s resistance.
Mahmut Polat, whose house was raided, wrote a letter to HDP MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu and told every detail about the incident and the aftermath of torture at home:
MAHMUT POLAT’S LETTER
“There was a knock at my door at 6:30 AM on Friday, October 18, 2019, in Karaköprü, Şanlıurfa. After the morning prayer, I was reading the Quran. When I opened the door with the Qur’an in my hand, I saw the police officers at the door in plain-clothes. They told me they had a search and an arrest warrant. So I said, “You carry out your search, then we’ll go wherever you want me to go”. Thereupon, with a harsh expression and shouting:
“Instead of committing terrorist acts here, do it in the mountains!” I just said, “Please just do your duty sir”. Hence he shouted with harsh statements “We will make you accept this (Turkish) state, you will realize the power of the state, you will accept this country, this state has given us the authority to kill you, if we do not kill you, we do you a favor!” and my sleeping wife and children woke up and came to the room. At that time, the police kept insulting and shouting. My son Mehmet Ali Polat reacted to the police verbally “Can’t you calm down, why are you shouting at the old man?”
Then the police lashed out with very indecent and dirty expressions “….. We’re not going to ask for advice from you! ….. ” and they swept down on him. My other son, Sadullah Polat, tried to save his brother, and two policemen attacked him and laid him down. The police officers not only put rear-handcuffing on both of my children but also they started kicking their heads with grabbing their hair and started hitting their faces on the floor. When we objected to this situation, they put me in reverse cuffs as well and took me to a separate room. The officers continued to insult and assault both my sons in front of my 14-year-old daughter Ebrar and my 16-year-old son Mutahara.
I was desperately hearing both the insults of the officers and the cries of my poor children. The police officers did not let my daughter Ebrar and my son Mutahara go to school. Then they asked for reinforcements units because they claimed that we resisted. They forcefully put the children in the elevator without their shoes and with only their pajamas. During this time, they continued to insult and assault in the elevator, outside the building, and inside the car. They did not allow the neighbors to look out the window, shouting rudely, and told them to get inside. They got each child in a separate car and took him for a doctor’s examination.
The officers arranged a “no-assault” report from a doctor even though my son Mehmet Ali was not taken into the hospital building. They also had a report on the way to the prosecution interrogation. My other son, Sadullah, was also taken to the hospital in the same way in another police car, and the doctor furnished a “no-assault” report without physically examining him. Meanwhile, the police received an “assaulted” report against my two sons as if my sons had onslaught to the police. The police filed a criminal complaint against my two sons for prosecution. During the period of their detention, violence and assault continued, rear-handcuffed. My son Sadullah was released by the judge on the same day with a supervised release and an international travel ban. Sadullah wanted to go to the hospital immediately after his release and to get a copy of the report given to him.
The hospital police didn’t give a report and tore the copy in his hand. The doctor in the hospital had objected to the police, but it remained inconclusive. My son Mehmet Ali was kept in custody for a day at the juvenile branch. On the second day, my son was brought before the public prosecutor and during the interrogation, the prosecutor saw the beatings on Mehmet Ali’s face and body and took the statement down. Mehmet Ali was also released by the judge with a supervised release and a travel ban. Mehmet Ali was qualified in the exam for the Faculty of Medicine of Baku University in Azerbaijan, however, cannot get registered due to the ban on abroad. In the same way, I, Mahmut Polat, was also beaten in custody and released by the judge released with supervised release.”
HDP Deputy Gergerlioglu asked Vice President Fuat Oktay in a parliamentary question regarding the incident.
Out of 14 different questions directed by Gergerlioglu, related questions are as follows:
“Is it true that Mehmet Ali Polat was assaulted and that he received a “no-assault” report before he was physically taken to a doctor? If this claim is true, is there any investigation against the police and the doctor who issued the report? If there is an investigation, what is its stage? If this claim is true, how will the suspicion on the reports of fellow countrymen be removed from now on?”
“Is it true that Sadullah Polat alleged that he went to the hospital to ask for a copy of the assault report but that the police in the hospital did not allow him and tore the report? If this claim is true, is there an investigation into the issue? Have all the security cameras been examined within the scope of this investigation?”