DUBAI: Those who defiled the body of his brother are not human, lamented the sibling of a Palestinian who died while in Turkish custody for allegations of espionage.
Those who committed this are not human, Zakariya Mubarak told Al-Arabiya in a live interview.
“The tongue was not inside the body, it was stuffed with cotton,” he said.
Worse, it is now impossible to reinvestigate the stated reasons for Zaki’s death, as the cadaver’s current state makes it hard to perform autopsy again.
“I was just told that it is impossible to rerun the autopsy, as there is nothing inside the body, it was completely emptied,” Zakariya explained.
Turkish authorities have claimed that Zaki died in custody after committing suicide on April 28, but his family believes he died of torture in Turkish prisons. He was earlier detained along with another Palestinian on charges of espionage.
Zakariya told Al-Arabiya that he was shocked when he first saw the body of his brother, as the injuries Zaki suffered made him even unsure if it was him.
“Until his two daughters came and recognized him by the special markings on his body,” he added.
Zakariya described his brother as a trusting person who was betrayed by the same people he trusted.
“Zaki had great trust in the Islamic system in Turkey,” he said.
The man said his brother believed that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was supportive of Palestinians, which encouraged him to enter Turkey with his Palestinian passport.
“He could have entered with the Bulgarian refugee document, it could have protected him from what he went through,” he explained.
Zakariya said his brother was betrayed because he was Palestinian, “as if the Palestinian blood is cheap.”
He said the Palestinian embassy has not provided much help or support, he had to move the body to Egypt on his own.
“We are very grateful to Egypt for providing the moral support, however, what they can do is limited,” Zakariya said.
A physical examination is the solution the deceased’s family decided to follow, as an autopsy would not reveal the cause of death due to the body’s state.
“I am sure we will win in the international courts,” Zakariya said.
Zakariya also claimed the Turkish medical report contradicts itself, and confirms the presence of injuries and wound marks on the body.
