Şerali Dereli (61) was reportedly murdered by soldiers in Duranlar (Awyan) village of Esendere region in Hakkari (Colemerg) in Turkey on 29 October. His family claimed that soldiers opened fire on them as they tried to reach his body. After the incident, footage was publicly released that shed further light on the attack.
In the footage, Dereli’s nephew is heard saying: “They murdered my uncle, shooting him repeatedly. Later, when the incident is reported in the press, they will claim that he has been found with C-4 type explosives. My uncle is over 60 years old and he is not guilty”. In the footage, several armed soldiers can be seen standing by Dereli’s body. Dereli’s nephew also stated that soldiers opened fire on them when they tried to reach the scene and collect Dereli’s dead body.
The 29 October incident
According to Mesopotamia Agency (MA), Turkish soldiers carried out a military operation in the region and murdered Dereli. His horse, which was tied to a stake, was also shot and killed.
Dereli’s relatives tried to claim his body, but were blocked by soldiers. His body remained at the incident site for six hours, before being transferred to Hakkari Public Hospital. It was reported that Dereli lost his life due to internal bleeding caused by a bullet through his back. Following the autopsy, Dereli’s body was buried in the village.
It has also been revealed that Dereli’s 19-year-old brother, Abdulhalit, was murdered by a Turkish soldier near their village in 1983.
Soldiers opened fire on the family
Şerali Dereli’s son, Sultan Ali Dereli, said that soldiers killed his father alongside his horse and foal. It was an act of barbarism, he said. Sultan heard his father’s voice during the attack: “They were beating my father when he was still alive. First they battered him and then they killed him”, he said. He added that the soldiers opened fire on him and his family when they tried to get to his father’s body.
“My father was assassinated openly. We will file a complaint against those who are responsible. Those who killed my father must be tried. Why did they kill a person in his sixties? What has my father done?”
Dereli’s relatives: “You will see the power of the Turks” said Commander
New allegations were made regarding Şerali Dereli, who was killed by soldiers 50 meters away from his home in Yüksekova, in Hakkari (Colemerg).
Dereli’s family claimed that they ran after hearing the gunshots, but they were prevented and threatened by the soldiers. Stating that the ambulance coming to the village was also delayed, the family said that the Dereli’s body remained on the ground for 12 hours.
Şerali Dereli, who lives in the village of Duranlar, in Yüksekova district of Hakkari (Colemerg), was killed at a point near his barn by the soldiers who went into operation on October 29.
The Hakkari Governorship made a statement days later, claiming that Dereli was shot because he did not obey the warning to stop, but his family said that it was a lie. According to them, he went to the barn 50 meters from his house to look after his horses, and he was killed.
Müjdat Can and Mazlum Engindeniz from Mesopotamia Agency (MA) went to the village where the incident took place and talked with the witnesses.
According to MA, relatives of Dereli, who explained that they were beaten by the gendarmerie when they went to take his body, said that a commander threatened him saying “You will see the power of the Turks”.
‘‘I will burn and demolish the village”
Dereli’s nephew, Ercan Dereli, stated that the gendarmeries shout out a “stop” warning when they wanted to go to the point after hearing the gunshots around 6 p.m.
Explaining that the ambulance arrived 20 minutes later while trying to find out what was happening, Ercan Dereli said, “When we saw the ambulance, we were alarmed. We walked towards the teams. They pointed guns at us. We asked, “Why did the ambulance come?” The commander who introduced himself as the District Gendarmerie Commander, pointed the gun at us and said, “I will kill you.” We said, “No, what happened, commander?” ‘You shot my soldier, we will burn and destroy this village,” From now on, I will show you what the state is,” he said.
‘They also pointed a gun at us’
Dereli emphasized that his uncle died because the ambulance was not allowed in the village: “Maybe he was injured when they hit him. The ambulance had also arrived”. Dereli said that they were officially killed, and when they reached the point where the body was, they were stopped by the soldiers,” he said.
Dereli said, “They pulled the crown and said” stop “. They said, “If you get a little closer, we’ll shoot.” 40 or 50 (armored vehicles) came up. When we wanted to take to my uncle’s body, they first opened fire in the air, and when we got a little closer, they fired at our feet. When we approached my uncle, he was on the ground “.