The first hearing in the trial of 13 gendarmes accused of torturing two brothers and causing the death of one of them in custody will begin September 9 at the High Criminal Court in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, local media reported.
The case centers on the February 2023 arrest of Ahmet Güreşçi, 37, and his brother Sabri, 27, in the Altınözü district of Hatay, days after powerful earthquakes devastated the region. The brothers were detained on suspicion of looting.
According to the indictment, the gendarmes allegedly beat and tortured the men in a storage room at the Altınözü Central District Gendarmerie Station. Prosecutors say Ahmet Güreşçi lost consciousness during the alleged abuse and later died from head injuries consistent with blunt force trauma. Sabri Güreşçi survived with serious injuries, including broken bones.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the proceedings as a rare test of accountability for security forces in Turkey. “The trial of 13 gendarmes in connection with the death in custody of Ahmet Güreşçi and the torture of his brother is a test of whether the authorities are willing to deliver justice for these egregious crimes,” Hugh Williamson, the group’s Europe and Central Asia director, said in a statement.
Thirteen officers face charges of torture leading to death and torture resulting in injury. If convicted, they could face aggravated life imprisonment for Ahmet’s death and up to 15 years for Sabri’s torture. The defendants deny the accusations, claiming the brothers were already injured when taken into custody and that Ahmet struck his head against objects while detained.
A forensic report contradicted those claims, determining that Ahmet died from a brain hemorrhage caused by blows to the head. A separate medical report confirmed that Sabri’s injuries were consistent with torture.
None of the gendarmes were held in pretrial detention. While some were briefly suspended, lawyers for the Güreşçi family say most remain on active duty.
The arrest of the brothers came in the chaotic aftermath of the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, which killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and injured in excess of 80,000. In the days that followed videos circulating on social media showed scenes of looting, aid convoys being hijacked and suspects being beaten by both law enforcement and angry mobs in quake-hit cities.
Authorities reported at least 124 arrests for looting in the disaster zone. Rights groups, however, warned that the crackdown fueled widespread abuses, with refugees in particular targeted in beatings and hate crimes.
The case is among the most egregious in a pattern of security forces mistreating people they accused of theft during that period, according to HRW and an Amnesty International report.
The trial comes amid broader scrutiny of security force conduct in Turkey. In May, a Hatay court sentenced four soldiers to life in prison for torturing two Syrian men to death and abusing four others in a separate 2023 case.
