VAN - Khales Arsan, a smuggler who crossed the border from the city of Maku in Iran to Turkey, turned up in the police station. Telling that he was tortured in the police station, Arsan said: "A commander and 6 soldiers beat us with sticks, hammers and iron bars."

 

Khales Arsan (31) who came to Turkey from the Maku city of Iran on the night of July 18 with 4 of  his friends has been missing since then. Arsan turned up at the border police station. 

 

Arsan whom we reached via his family, told they were tortured at the police station.

 

TORTURED FOR 3 DAYS

 

Stating that the soldiers have opened fire while they were trying to cross the border, Arsan said: "4 of my friends were able to escape but I couldn't because I was so tired. I was captured." Stating that there were 19 more refugees at the police station, said: "I told them I wasn't from Iran and I was from Afghanistan. They took us to a police station. A commander, 6 soldiers beat us with sticks, hammers and iron bars at the police station. They took one of us in the middle and beat one person at a time, so much that the ground was covered with blood. They sometimes took a break and then pick another one of us next. It took three days. We all have broken bones in our bodies."

 

Stating that they left the 19 refugees back to Iran border without processing them, Arsan said: "They told us to cross the border towards Iran. When we did, they opened fire. We barely escaped." 

 

8 PEOPLE KILLED IN 2 YEARS

 

Stating that they have to be smugglers in order to survive, Arsan said: "If we don't do it, we will starve. There are no jobs in Iran. I tought I was going to be killed when I was captured. In my village only, 8 people were killed by the soldiers of Iran and Turkey in 2 years."