12 year old Nihat was killed by police in Turkey’s southeast two years ago today
Two years ago today (January 14), Nihat Kazanhan was killed by police in Turkey’s southeast town Cizre at the age of 12. His father Mehmet Emin Kazanhan shared his heartfelt emotions in a message by saying “My dear son, I have left behind two years without you. If you had been living, you would have been 14. Who could you have harmed? How could you have harmed anyone, you were only 12. You were a successful 6th grader. I would have been working day and night for you to get educated. That morning, I had already left. I saw you last while you were asleep. What did they want from us?”
12 year old Nihat Kazanhan was killed by police in Cizre town of Turkey’s Şırnak province during the times of intense operations of Turkey’s security forces in the dominantly Kurdish southeast region following the break of a peace process between Turkey’s state and PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) after the 2015 elections in the country. Though officials had initially denied claims that Kazanhan was killed by a police officer, video images of the murder was then released, leading officer shooting Kazanhan to be sentenced to 13 years in jail.
While operations left several towns of the region in ruins with hundreds of families having to leave their homes, excessive use of force by security forces claimed lives of hundreds, including children.