KURT JUDGMENT OF 25 MAY 1998
24
Commission was fully conscious of the inconsistencies and contradictions
in the applicant’s various written and oral statements on the course of events
in the village during the military operation. Notwithstanding, she was found
to be credible and convincing on the essential aspects of her account. Before
the delegates she had never wavered under cross-examination, including by
the Government lawyers present, in her assertion that she had seen her son
outside Hasan Kılıç’s house on the morning of 25 November 1993
surrounded by soldiers and village guards. The Government’s contention
that Üzeyir Kurt had been either kidnapped by the PKK or had left the
village to join the terrorists had no basis in fact and could not rebut the
applicant’s eyewitness account of her son’s detention.
88. The Delegate insisted that the Commission had duly considered
every single discrepancy identified by the Government in the applicant’s
version of the events. In particular, careful consideration was given to the
seemingly conflicting statement provided by Hasan Kılıç to the gendarmes
(see paragraph 31 above). Admittedly, Hasan Kılıç’s account raised doubts
about the accuracy of the applicant’s recollection of the events on the
morning of 25 November 1993. However, unlike the applicant, Hasan Kılıç
had never testified before the delegates and his statement had to be treated
with caution since it had been taken by the very officers whom the applicant
alleged had detained her son.
89. For the above reasons, the Delegate requested the Court to accept the
facts as found by the Commission (see paragraph 53 above).
(b) The applicant
90. The applicant agreed with the facts as found by the Commission and
its conclusions thereon. She had seen her son surrounded by soldiers and
village guards outside Hasan Kılıç’s house on the morning of 25 November
1993. She confirmed before the Court that she has not seen him since.
(c) The Government
91. The Government strenuously disputed the Commission’s findings of
fact, and in particular the undue weight which it gave to the applicant’s
evidence. They insisted that the applicant was in fact the only person
claiming to have seen her son outside Hasan Kılıç’s house surrounded by
soldiers and village guards. However, the Commission found her testimony
to be credible despite the fact that she had retracted earlier allegations made
against the security forces (see paragraphs 30 and 32 above) and many
features of her account were highly implausible and at odds with other
evidence (see paragraph 30 and 31 above).