Many people supported my brother on social media. This is not enough because only a specific group of people make their voices heard. Most of the society is perhaps unaware and even people say things like, “Oh well! Serves them right!” unfortunately for the victims.
In 2019, seven people, including your brother, were abducted, and six emerged; only one of them, Gökhan Türkmen, dared to speak and told he had been severely tortured. Do you think the same may have happened to your brother after the other people’s silence and Turkmen’s statements?
Gökhan Türkmen is a person of key significance. Gökhan Türkmen emerged at the Counterterrorism Department (TEM) 9 months after his abduction. This is one of the police units reportedly tasked to search and find my brother. Albeit sadly, the police are hand in glove with the perpetrators of abductions. Gökhan Türkmen’s discovery had been a great comfort for us. The fact he had been discovered gave us hope that my brother would also be found soon. Even if it’s a long time, like nine months, it makes one think; it means they can be found. If they are abducted, it means they come back somehow. We were hopeful back then, thinking maybe my brother could also return, but it has not happened so far. It’s been a long time. For my brother, this still has not happened.
No doubt, Gökhan Türkmen’s statements are crucial. He took significant risks and told what he knew. Because as far as I know, people abducted and then released are kept in solitary cells in prisons and cannot access their lawyers. They cannot defend themselves by any means and the threats against them continue in prisons. Considering all these, it is great that Turkmen told in the court all what had happened to him during his abduction and forced detention. A great act of courage. I am grateful to him for doing this.
After Turkmen’s speech, his wife was targeted. If I’m not mistaken, they initiated investigations against her, and her Twitter account was hacked. Much more was done to silence her. Even though she knew these things, her silence and expression constituted ample evidence for other abductions. While these were happening, the state did not search for other abductees after what Turkmen had told. No investigation has been conducted on what he said, and no action has been taken. Here, too, we have seen the method of covering up everything, the state knows this best. This is a harrowing situation. A person comes out and says terrible things. He talks about severe torture but the state does nothing. Our psychologies had been in tatters due to my brother’s abduction. It was tough for us even to read what Turkmen told. Maybe the same things happened to my brother. Even thinking about it gave us a tough time. I couldn’t come to my senses for two years with the news of abductions we read, the news of torture, ill-treatment, and so on. After two years, I can say my life has become normal. It’s like these two years passed as if they were blank slates. I wonder what my brother is doing and where he is now. I always spend time thinking about him. I believe this is the most significant piece of evidence showing the state is behind these abductions. It’s not just one example. There are other examples. Although the abduction footage and evidence of Sunay Elmas, one of the abductees who is still missing, were obtained, the authorities did not even examine the images; they do not want it to be investigated. The images are very clear, and although the faces of the abductors are visible, they are not deliberately caught.
There are also statements made by people working at the MIT (National Intelligence Organization) about these abductions. These, too, are ignored. Someone in an important position at the MIT made statements saying “We abduct and torture” as if it were normal. You know, this is a well-known fact, but unfortunately, it is a fact not addressed.
Were there people like political party leaders or deputies whom you could reach and requested official help? If so, what did they do about it? What do they think?
We contacted Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu on the first day and solicited his assistance. Thanks to him, he has consistently brought this issue to the agenda since the first day, occasionally, and has not given up. He even put forward parliamentary questions. Unfortunately, these were not answered.
Recently, I also talked to Mustafa Yeneroğlu. He and his party submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministry and the National Assembly. I had heard Mustafa Yeneroğlu had a significant contribution in finding the six previous abductees. He has a video on his social media account where he clearly states these abductions were carried out by the state operatives, that he knows the perpetrators, and that he will intervene if what is required is not done. Yeneroğlu’s statement may have helped the emergence of these six abductees. The questions he gave about my brother were left unanswered, and nothing happened. Sezgin Tanrıkulu also brings up this issue occasionally. In this way, three deputies actively followed and asked about my brother’s case. My father especially tried to reach party leaders and other officials, but he did not get many answers.
Although there are solid evidences and statements of abductees about these abductions and tortures in Turkey, the state denies and ignores them. Despite the abductions by the state in history and their evidence, Vice President Fuat Oktay answered a question about your brother, saying, “The Turkish state has never abducted people.” What would you like to say about this?
There are those who experienced things and there are those who express what they experienced. These expressions were heard and recorded in courts. Recently, there were Ayten Öztürk and Mustafa Özden. They told their experiences in court. Many people talked about their abduction and torture under detention. There are even camera footages, but it is quite absurd to claim there are no abductions in Turkey. It is something said to avert the question. We know Saturday Mothers, the mothers looking for their children who disappeared under custody. These are not one person, not five people, but tens of hundreds of people. Unfortunately, these issues are not considered in any case. Normally, the state authorities are expected to respond to such requests and questions for considerations and probes, but they don’t even do that. I would be pleased if the Vice President just did or said so. If he said, ‘We examined the file, we viewed the footage from 24 cameras on the route where Yusuf Bilge had been abducted, here are the reports, there is no footage that shows he was abducted in any way,’ I would be very relieved because of this. I wish there was such a thing. What we want is just to have this probe done transparently. Let the results be clear and shared. To say ‘such a thing does not exist’ doing nothing is unbefitting for a state official. Everyone says this. What we expect is a serious investigation. The state has several means; we do not have them. We expected the state officials to fulfill their duties, and saying ‘such a thing does not exist’ without doing these serves to cover up the incidents. Both the state’s police and their superintendents act and talk in the same way as if they made a pact; this raises suspicions. Normally, Fuat Oktay’s statement cannot be interpreted in any other way.
What do you think about the current situation of your brother Yusuf Bilge, with all the unknowns and the state’s silence on this issue and the final decision of the ECHR?
I waited for a long time with hope. In the ninth month of his abduction, I said he could be kept for longer if they held him for nine months until then. So somehow, I expected him to emerge one day soon. My parents and my brother’s children always dreamed that my brother was alive and at home. Maybe that’s why my family still looks forward to my brother’s homecoming; yet I think after all this time, he lives in another world, not in this world. The possibility of his return is so slim after all this time. But still, there is no such thing that he died or something had happened to him. That’s why one cannot always rid oneself of that slight possibility. I wonder if he will come one day. Even if it’s a slim prospect, it’s always there. One cannot give up on waiting. This is perhaps the hardest part. You can reconcile with the death of a loved one much quicker, but it is tough to wait like this.
What is the situation of Yusuf Bilge’s wife and children after his abduction and the absence of news from him?
His wife and children are also having a hard time. His wife is emotionally frayed, but tries her best to be there for the children. She strives hard to stand up for them. Only one of their children is old enough to understand this; the others are younger. This is how she shares little about their father’s condition with them. She and my parents didn’t tell the kids anything about their father’s abduction. More precisely, they did not want the children’s psychology to deteriorate. Both my brother’s family and we experience difficult times.
What would you like to call out to the authorities and entities on this occasion?
I expect little domestically, as the rule of law and the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have been suspended in Turkey with the Erdogan regime. Still, the contributions from the international institutions and organizations to solve this pressing issue will be very valuable. We have often observed the Erdogan regime could not stand against some demands from abroad and stepped back. I think if all relevant international institutions and organizations, especially the US Senate and the European Parliament, can pressure Erdoğan to stop abductions and produce the abductees, it will work. From here, I call on all international institutions and organizations to support us so my brother can be found.
Thank you again, Ms. Şefika, for answering all questions honestly.