Sabri Guresci was sitting inside a tent on the grounds of his family cottage in Hatay’s Altinozu district on the morning of Feb. 11 when gendarmerie officials showed up firing warning shots in the air. “They asked for Sabri then shoved him into their vehicle without explanation,” his father, Ibrahim, recalled. “Why are you taking my brother?” Sabri’s younger brother Ahmet asked, only to be hauled off to the local police station as well.
Around six hours later, Ahmet’s lifeless body was spirited out of the station. When dusk fell, Ibrahim went to the station asking what had happened to his boys. He was greeted with blank stares and told to leave. As he stood outside waiting, Ibrahim saw a body being taken out. It was wrapped in a blanket.