KURT JUDGMENT OF 25 MAY 1998 7 (b) Actions taken against the applicant’s lawyer, Mr Şakar 25. The applicant states that the authorities have taken steps with a view to prosecuting her lawyer, Mr Mahmut Şakar, for his involvement in her application to the Commission. She refers to a request made in a document dated 12 January 1995 by Mr Özkarol of the Foreign Ministry’s Human Rights Directorate that an investigation be opened against Mr Şakar who was suspected of exploiting the applicant and had made an application against Turkey. B. Facts as presented by the Government 1. Concerning the disappearance of the applicant’s son 26. Ağıllı is a thirty-six-household village. From this village and its surroundings, about fifteen men and women have joined the PKK, which is a high ratio for such a small village. These include Türkan Kurt, the daughter of Musa Kurt, one of the applicant’s sons. 27. While an operation did take place in the village and clashes occurred between the security forces and suspected terrorists, Üzeyir Kurt was not taken into custody by the security forces. He had no history of previous detention or problems with the authorities and there was no reason for him to be taken into custody. 28. The Government submit that there are strong grounds for believing that Üzeyir Kurt has in fact joined or been kidnapped by the PKK. They refer to the fact that the family allege that his brother died in gendarme custody several years before; the fact that the applicant stated that he hid when the security forces arrived in the village; and the fact that his house was burnt down following the clash in the village. Further, some members of the family had already joined the PKK and several months after the operation in the village a shelter was found outside the village which it was said was used by Üzeyir Kurt in his contacts with the PKK. There is also a strong tradition of villagers escaping to the mountains at the onset of any military action. Villagers have also stated that they heard that he had been kidnapped by the PKK. 29. The Government submit that Üzeyir could have hidden in the village at the commencement of the operation and then, under cover of darkness and poor weather, slipped through the security forces’ blockade. Mehmet Karabulut testified before the Commission’s delegates at the hearing in Ankara that on the night following the first clash Üzeyir was in Mevlüde’s home sleeping (see paragraph 15 above) but that when he woke in the morning Üzeyir was no longer there. The Government stress that Mehmet Karabulut testified that he had not seen or heard soldiers in Mevlüde’s house, which would confirm that Üzeyir went off of his own accord.