Ferzinde and Sirin Abi are a married Kurdish couple who were detained on 26 April 1996 and have now been formally arrested and committed to prison in Van. Ferzinde Abi runs a coffee-house in Van and was a board member of the Hakkari branch of the now defunct Democracy Party (DEP). He has registered a complaint with the Van Chief Prosecutor alleging that during the 15 days of incommunicado police detention, he and his wife were subjected to very severe torture, which has resulted in paralysis of his arms. There is further concern that police threatened doctors at Van State Hospital not to treat him or document his injuries. Extracts from his testimony are given here.
