Thrown from a helicopter, Osman Şiban faces ‘terror’ charges

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Taken into custody along with Servet Turgut by soldiers in Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Van and thrown from a helicopter on September 11, 2020, Osman Şiban has been indicted.

Accepted by the Van 5th High Criminal Court, the indictment has accused Şiban of "being the member of a [terrorist/illegal] organization".

The court has sent the case file to Mersin province by giving a decision of non-jurisdiction on the grounds of Şiban's place of residence.

Accusations over 'cylinders and diesel fuel'

As reported by Dindar Karataş from Mezopotamya Agency, the indictment has alleged that Şiban "engaged in militia activities and transferred logıistic and life materials upon the instruction of the organization".

Referring to "intelligence that some regions in Van and Şırnak's rural areas are used by members of the organization", the indictment has argued that the members of the organization took provisions and life materials from Şiban's house in the Surik Hamlet and got in contact with him.

The indictment has also cited the diesel fuel found in three 40 to 50-liter barrels in the Surik Hamlet as criminal evidence.

The indictment justified this accusation by saying that "the house closest to the point where the barrels were found belonged to Osman Şiban". Found during the searches at the house of a family living in the hamlet, three cylinders and life products, considered to be distributed by animals, have also been added to the indictment against Osman Şiban.

Informant's allegation about a meeting

According to the indictment, on and before the day of the incident, the area where Osman Şiban's house was located was viewed by uncrewed aerial vehicles and armed uncrewed aerial vehicles. The indictment alleged that in the evening of September 9, 2020, "there was a mobility of people in such a way that it was against the natural flow of life."

Another striking point in the indictment is the statement of an informant. The informant alleged that he had a meeting with Murat Karayılan, a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Steering Committee from the 1980s to 1990s, and with Mahsun Korkmaz, one of the PKK commanders who died in 1986, at the house of Osman Şiban.

'To evade the charges...'

Referring to Şiban's statement, the indictment has alleged that it was "aimed at evading the charges", briefly adding:

"In the light of all these pieces of evidence; it is understood that the suspect was engaged in activities of collecting financial aid for the organization and receiving financial aid from the organization, he was in constant contact with members of the organization operating in the rural area, he acted in accordance with the orders and instructions of the organization, he met the needs of the organization members in the rural, he served as the militia of the organization members and offered logistic support; it is [concluded that] the person committed a crime when the continuation, variety and intensity of his actions and activities are also taken into consideration..."

What happened?

Taken into custody by the soldiers who launched an operation in the Çatak district of Van province on September 11, Osman Şiban and Servet Turgut were found in the intensive care unit of the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital two days later.

Speaking about the issue, Osman Şiban said that he and Servet Turgut were dropped from a helicopter after they had been detained and tortured by soldiers in Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Van.

While the "Intensive Care" section of the report has referred to "falling from a higher place" as a complaint, the report has further said that "they were brought to the emergency department by paramedics upon being informed by the security personnel after they had fallen from a higher place."

In a written statement about the allegation that two people were dropped from a military helicopter, the Governor's Office of Van has announced that a legal and administrative investigation has been launched.

While Şiban has recovered, Turgut lost his life on September 30.

On the other side, police raided the office of Mezopotamya Agency (MA) and houses of several journalists, including Jinnews reporters, in Van in the early morning hours on October 5 2020.

MA reporters Adnan Bilen and Cemil Uğur, Jinnews reporter Şehriban Abi and Nazan Sala were detained in the raids. On October 9, they were arrested on charge of "membership of the organization".

The journalists revealed with documents that Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban had been dropped from a helicopter.

They were released at their first hearing on April 2, 2021. (HA/SD)