Biography
Born 1976 Afrin, Northern Syria
Place
Agiri, Southeastern Turkey
Date
25.06.2008
Description
On 25 June 2008, around 10 a.m. a group of soldiers of the Turkish army encountered the Body of a fallen Kurdish combatant. Her identity was later confirmed as Leyla Hannan. The location of the event was Ağrı/Tendürek.
As can be seen from a series of pictures, the soldiers photographed several times the corpse and themselves. Several members of the army posed with weapons next to the dead. Others touched the corpse and tugged at their clothes. Both stockings of the favours were stripped off and apparently taken away as trophies.
Legal Status
This constitutes a war crime against persons. The person killed is a person to be protected under international humanitarian law. The right to respect the fallen is also found in Art. 34 para. 1 of the 1st Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention. Due to the soldiers and their behaviour there is a degrading treatment. Recognised the honour of the dead is also protected by § 8 para. 1 no. 9 (MüKo on § 8 VStGB, note 194). Protected is the reverence of the relatives and a dignified rest for the dead, a violation of these rights would, on the other hand, be like an exhibition through pictures and their dissemination. But that is exactly what has happened here. The act has also been committed intentionally.
The identity of the perpetrators is not known. However, they can be seen in the photos. A starting point for the identification of the perpetrators, the distinctive emblem could be used on some of the the soldiers’ caps and the photographic material itself.
