Author Description

Istanbul: Hafiza Merkezi / Truth Justice Memory Center, 2013. 4to., 108 p. The report is based on field research we conducted primarily in the districts of Cizre, Idil, and Silopi in the Sirnak province. It was prepared using the testimonies of 86 relatives of 69 disappeared persons. In addition to the relatives of the disappeared, we interviewed jurists, representatives of rights organizations, and relatives of the disappeared who live in Istanbul. This report is an effort to grasp the legal, political, and social mechanisms through which the strategy of enforced disappearance is implemented. The report also tackles the mechanisms and practices through which society’s silence and indifference towards this continuing issue have been formed. Yet another significant focus of the report is the process and experiences the relatives of the disappeared go through before and after the enforced disappearance, and the meaning they attribute to them. The experiences of the relatives of the disappeared within the scope of the strategy of enforced disappearance also tell us important things about the state, justice, and citizenship in Turkey. This report was written in order to aid in the broad dissemination of this information into society.