GÜLEÇ JUDGMENT OF 27 JULY 1998 26 When the soldiers inside the Panzer opened fire, they were not concerned to preserve human life. The MG-3 machine gun mounted on the vehicle was a very powerful weapon. A number of people were wounded. Shots could be heard in all the streets of İdil until 8 o’clock that evening. Mr Demir had been trying to get home when he was arrested and held in police custody for three or four days. Mr Demir’s café and other buildings in İdil had been damaged during the incidents. On 29 April 1991 Mr Demir had made a statement to the İdil public prosecutor to the effect that he had stayed in bed on the day of the incidents and had not opened his café, but this was a lie. (q) Beşir Arı (born in Turkey in 1963, now living in Germany) 46. Mr Arı stated that he had arrived in İdil on the morning of 4 March 1991 at 8 a.m. from the village of Yarbaşı. He had taken part in the demonstration. With regard to the circumstances of Ahmet Güleç’s death, Mr Arı had seen him fall under fire from the Panzer. At that time Mr Arı had been in the middle of the demonstration and had seen soldiers and police officers open fire in the direction of the crowd, without giving any warning. The Panzer, which had come from the centre of town, had been behind the demonstrators when it fired several times, in their direction, at the ground and in the air. Five or six people had fallen close to him and the demonstrators had dispersed. Ahmet Güleç, who was 50 metres from the Panzer, had also fallen to the ground. Mr Arı had run away into the surrounding streets and helped the injured to make their way to the health centre. He had been arrested and taken to the gendarmerie headquarters. The demonstrators had not been acting on anyone’s orders. (r) Sabri Aslan (student at the Ankara University Faculty of Political Science at the material time) 47. Mr Aslan’s parents lived in a village 15 kilometres from İdil, and he had been on holiday in the region in March 1991. He had not seen what took place in the centre of town, in Atatürk Street. He had arrived in İdil early that morning and seen people coming away from the scene of the incidents. Armoured vehicles were patrolling the streets. One of the vehicles had opened fire on him. He had hidden behind a rock, but his leg had been burned by bullet fragments. According to Mr Aslan, the gendarmes were out of control and were taking absolutely no precautions to preserve human life. They were acting like hunters.