Three brothers in eastern Turkey were detained and beaten by police following a traffic dispute on Wednesday, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency reported.
The incident took place in Van’s Başkale district, where Fatih Değer, İsmail Değer and Diyar Değer were driving to work when they confronted plainclothes officers who allegedly entered the road without following traffic rules.
According to the family’s account, the officers detained the three men after the exchange and took them to the local police headquarters, where the brothers were allegedly beaten, suffering broken noses and teeth.
The three were later released and taken to a district hospital by their relatives to get treatment and obtain medical reports documenting their injuries. The family said they plan to file a complaint against the officers involved.
The incident sparked a protest on Thursday in Başkale organized by the local branch of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). Dozens of people, including civil society groups, took part in the march.
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, the DEM Party’s Van provincial branch said, “Perpetrators of torture must be removed from duty, and such acts must not go unpunished.”
Mahmut Dindar, a lawmaker for Van from the DEM Party, also called for those responsible to be held accountable, saying his party would follow the case closely.
