Bones retreived from mass grave are at the forensic medicine unit

Beyza Kural

Bones identified as belonging to almost 30 people, which were discovered at a construction site in Urfa’s Siverek district in the beginning of September, are currently at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Association for examination.

The Human Rights Association’s (HRA) Urfa Office and the Istanbul Office Commission Against Persons Missing Under Custody, started a petition and have urged the Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to deepen the investigation in order to reveal truths as soon as possible.

HRA Urfa Office filed a criminal complaint, stating that they have received applications regarding 35 cases of disappearances under custody in the region. HRA requested that DNA samples be taken from the disappeared’s families and the remains be returned to them after a cross-check examination.

The Forensic Medicine Association will calcuate when the bones were burried and their age. DNA cross-checking will be possible, if the dating matches disappearances. The Director of HRA Urfa, Cemal Babaoglu, said the process could take up to six months. (bianet)