Ali Sezer (92) died after he was hit by an armored police vehicle in the eastern province of Tunceli, local Turkish media reported.
According to the reports, an armored infantry vehicle hit Sezer while he was crossing a street in the Ataturk neighborhood of downtown Tunceli. The man was taken to the emergency room at Tunceli State Hospital where he later died.
Turkey’s Human Rights Association (İHD) reported in October 2017 that 23 people have died after being hit by armored vehicles used by Turkish security forces in the Kurdish-populated part of the country in the last 14 months.
In a written statement by İHD’s İzmir branch, the association expressed concern that the number of such incidents could increase due to the impunity with which these crimes are committed. “The right to life is sacred and it is a right that should be protected,” the statement said and added: “The right to life cannot be suspended for any reason, the people responsible for these incidents should be brought to justice. There is no statute of limitations in these kinds of crimes.”
According to a Mezopotamya news agency report, the fatal armored vehicle incidents are as follows:
Mustafa Duman: Killed in Van at the age of 17 on August 30, 2016.
Naciye Özdemir: Killed in Dersim at the age of 71 on September 6, 2016
Aydın Tümen, Serhat Buldan, Rahmi Sefalı, Nejdet İşözü: Killed in Yüksekova, Hakkari, on October 8, 2016.
Hakan Sarak: Killed on October 24, 2016 at the age of 5.
Berfin Dilek: Killed in Dargeçit, Mardin, at the age of 7 on February 9, 2017.
Kerem Aslan: Killed on the Siirt-Batman road at the age of 34 on March 4, 2017.
Okan İnce, Bahadır Beyazlıoğlu and a person who could not be identified: Killed on March 21, 2017.
Hatun Elhuman: Killed at the age of 55 on April 27, 2017.
Sami Uçan: Killed on April 28, 2017.
Furkan Yıldırım (6), Mehmet Yıldırım (7): Killed in Şırnak on May, 4, 2017.
Pakize Hazar: Killed in Lice, Diyarbakır, at the age of 70 on June 14, 2017.
Mahmut Öner (74), Mevlüt Dağtaş (64), Abdülhamit Dağtaş (63), Fikri Demirbaş (53), Zeynep Demirbaş: Killed in Lice, Diyarbakır, in June 2017.
Remzi Menteşe and a child who could not be identified: Killed on the Diyarbakır-Bingöl road on June 19, 2017.
Sürmi İnce: Killed in Yüksekova, Hakkari, at the age of 55 on July 18, 2017.
Taha Kılıç: Killed in Van at the age of 4 on July 24, 2017.
Raşid Oso: Killed in Okmeydanı, İstanbul, at the age of 7 in August 2017.
Gülten Yaraşlı: Killed on the Hizan-Tatvan road in Van at the age of 55 on October 19, 2017.
Felek Batur: Killed in Çal, Siirt, at the age of 6 on October 19, 2017. (SCF with turkeypurge.com)
