Gendarmerie claims traces of assault in post-earthquake torture case

The first hearing of the case in which 13 gendarmerie officers are being tried on the grounds that Ahmet and Sabri Güreşçi brothers, who were detained after the February 6 earthquakes in Hatay, were tortured and that Ahmet Güreşçi lost his life as a result of this torture, was held in Hatay.

The indictment prepared by the Hatay Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that the defendants, then serving in the Altınözü District Gendarmerie Command, detained the Güreşçi brothers from their tent in the Büyükburç neighborhood of Altınözü on February 11, 2023, for their alleged involvement in a theft in Antakya. The indictment stated that Ahmet Güreşçi died as a result of severe torture during detention, while his brother Sabri Güreşçi was seriously injured. The defendants were facing aggravated life sentences and up to 18 years in prison each for "causing death as a result of torture" and "causing bone fractures as a result of torture." Two of the 13 defendants attended the hearing in the courtroom, while the others attended via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). The defendants were heard first.

Defendant Adil Eşme stated that the detentions were carried out on the prosecutor's orders, that Ahmet and Sabri's parents were in the garden, and that a woman had been harassed by a dog. He also stated that the police station's cameras were not working due to a power outage, and that hospitals were overcrowded, preventing reports of assault. He claimed that Ahmet and Sabri Güreşçi had signs of assault on their bodies when they were taken in. When the presiding judge asked, "Was there no electricity for 20 hours?", Eşme replied, "I don't know anything about electricity. They were assaulted when we took them in. They also hit their heads on the metal bars in the car."

Defendant Ahmet Bakır said, "I was on duty at the environmental police on the day of the incident. I didn't hear the conversation, but they set a dog on us, and Eren Karadeniz fired one shot. His relatives resisted, but he didn't want to give in. We broke the resistance and put the men in the car. He hit his head on the iron bars while taking him to the police station. Furthermore, when we took him home, there were visible marks of assault." Bakır denied the torture accusations, claiming that the Güreşçi brothers were "beaten by citizens for looting a liquor store." Bakır also claimed that he made the "throat slit" gesture in the police station footage to indicate he couldn't breathe.

Ahmet Bakır, who claimed that the Şahan family, who were detained on the same day and testified that the Güreşçi brothers were beaten, harbored hostility towards the gendarmerie and slandered them, said, "The Şahan family is a family that commits crimes like a criminal machine. They are slandering, we do not accept the accusations. These people were found to have drug use equipment; they may have become aggressive under the influence of drugs or because they could not drink."

Defendant Erhan Karadeniz stated that he was resisted during the arrest, prompting him to fire into the air. He claimed that the Güreşçi brothers had been assaulted during their arrest. The other defendants also denied the accusations, claiming that the Güreşçi family and witnesses had slandered the gendarmerie.

WRESTLER: ERHAN DID NOT LEAVE ANYTHING TO US

Complainant Sabri Güreşçi stated that they were severely beaten while being detained, saying, "They squeezed my head between two seats in the car. As I kept asking, 'Commander, what is our crime?' they hit me with a baton. Erhan continued to beat us. He hit us with a baton. They grabbed our hands from behind and threw us to the ground in front of the police station. They kept hitting us as they kept asking, 'Tell me why are you beating us?' One of them brought us 5-liter bottles of cold water and poured it on us. One hit us, the other used a baton. As we kept asking, 'Commander, why are we being beaten?' they said, 'You stole.'" Güreşçi also stated that they were accused of sexual abuse and forced to confess to crimes they didn't commit, saying, "We didn't accept this. You'll have to admit to all the crimes if you handed us a piece of paper. The more I kept saying, 'I didn't know, I didn't know.' They beat me even more."

The wrestler described how his brother was severely beaten in custody, hit in the head with a plank, and fell to the ground, bleeding from the mouth. He also said he was tortured with batons and sticks, and that after his brother's death, he was taken to the rubble to be left there as well. He survived thanks to his family's contact with lawyers.

Father İbrahim Güreşçi stated that his sons were not injured when they were taken into custody, but that they were beaten at the police station, where his son died. Witness Ekrem Şahan, in his statement via SEGBİS, stated that he witnessed the Güreşçi brothers being stripped naked and beaten with batons at the police station.

BÜYÜKDAĞ: WE DEMAND THEIR ARRESTS

The plaintiff's lawyer, Ümit Büyükdağ, requested that all defendants be present in court for identification, saying, "Considering the nature of the crime and the severity of the penalty, it is unacceptable that the defendants have not been arrested. We demand their arrest."

DURAN: TORTURE IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

Gaziantep Bar Association President and Attorney Bülent Duran stated, "Torture is a crime against humanity. Considering the witnesses heard and the contents of the case file, the situation is very serious. The efforts made by your court to ensure justice will be valuable. There is no peace without justice. We expect justice, we want justice."

The prosecutor's office issued an opinion that the requests for participation be accepted, the deficiencies be addressed, and judicial control measures against the defendants be maintained. The court rejected the request for the defendants' arrest.

The next hearing was adjourned to February 12, 2026.

Source: ANKA