The district of Samandağ in Hatay has recently been in the news for provocations and attacks targeting Kurdish construction workers. Eight young men were attacked by both the police and local residents within two days. The first attack occurred a few days ago when four young men were stopped and fined for a traffic violation. The second day, a group of young men sitting by the seaside were nearly lynched for speaking Kurdish.
One of the victims, Muhammed Bayram, said that after objecting to the police issuing them a traffic fine, they were first beaten and insulted by the police, and then by locals. They were also threatened with remarks like, “We don’t want Kurds here, leave.”
Bayram explained that they left town at 4 a.m. because they feared for their safety. Despite doing nothing wrong, the police filed complaints against them, and one of his cousins was arrested based on those complaints.
The incident happened on the beach in Samandağ. Four young men from Amed had gone there to work on a public housing (TOKI) construction site. After sitting on the beach for a while, they reacted when police issued a fine for their vehicle. Bayram said plainclothes police arrived shortly after and also confronted them. When locals joined in, the police told them, “Leave, or they’ll kill you here.”
When they returned to the scene shortly afterward to retrieve their phones and belongings, they were met with insults like, “You again? We don’t want you here. Leave.” Bayram said they were quickly assaulted by both police and locals. He described being pepper-sprayed in the eyes, dragged on the ground, and beaten. “We didn’t touch anyone. They beat us, yet they were the ones who filed complaints against us,” he said.
Bayram recounted: “They told us, ‘You’re from Diyarbakır, you’re Kurdish, we don’t want you here. We’re against you working here.’ Our phones were still on the table. The police moved us away and told us, ‘If you stay here, they’ll kill you.’ We just wanted to get our belongings, but they didn’t let us.”
“We don’t want Kurds here”
Later, thinking things had calmed down, the workers returned to the beach to collect their belongings but discovered their items were missing. While searching in a trash bin, two people approached them and mentioned that there had previously been a murder in the area involving people from Diyarbakır. After the conversation, another group of three or four arrived and insulted them, saying, “We don’t want you. You’re Kurds, we don’t want you on our land.” Bayram’s cousin responded, “When it’s about talking, you say we’re brothers, but behind our backs you insult us.”
“First the police, then the locals attacked”
As the crowd grew, police returned to the scene. Bayram said, “A police officer grabbed me by the neck and dragged me. At the same time, the crowd attacked us. The police sprayed pepper gas. Our eyes burned from the gas, we fell to the ground, and I fainted. At that moment, I was kicked in five or six places. My brother, my aunt’s son, and my other cousin were beaten in the same way. The locals were emboldened by the police.”
“They beat us, then filed complaints against us”
The workers were taken to the police station in a police vehicle. When they tried to file a complaint, they learned that the police themselves had filed complaints against them. Bayram said, “We thought we were being taken to the station to file our complaint, but it turned out the police had complained about us. We were detained for a day. They didn’t give us food or cigarettes all day. Then we were taken to the prosecutor’s office to give statements. All four of us were referred to court with a request for arrest. My cousin was arrested on charges of ‘resisting the police.’ We didn’t attack anyone—they attacked us. But we were the ones found guilty.”
“If you don’t leave here, they’ll kill you”
Bayram said that threats continued even after they were released: “Everyone told us, ‘Your license plate is recognized. If you leave here, they’ll kill you. We won’t even be able to protect you. If you’re ready to die, go out; if not, return to your hometown.’ We wanted to keep working, but because of the ongoing threats, we couldn’t stay. We had to leave in the morning. We later learned that four other young men were beaten for speaking Kurdish. They also narrowly escaped being lynched. They were taken to the police station, but no one knows their current condition.”
Source: ANF News
