New shocking details about the nightmare experienced by men—both prisoners of war and civilians—at the hands of Attila during the 1974 Turkish invasion were shared on the “Alpha News” program by Vassos Christou, President of the Association of Prisoners of War. Following his testimony yesterday before the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees that a husband confessed to his wife shortly before his death that he had been raped by Turkish soldiers while in captivity—even though they had lived together for decades and had four children— Mr. Christou revealed that for some time now he has been in possession of a letter from a prisoner of war in which he describes, with “every tragic detail” of the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Attila.
As he stated, the man gave him the letter with the explicit instruction to make it public after his death, since he did not want either himself or his family to be stigmatized by Cypriot society.
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“After our captivity, wherever we went, people would point fingers at us and say—I won’t repeat the exact phrase—that we had been sexually abused. These things happened after 1974. And then, many accuse us of being turncoats—that we raised our hands to be taken prisoner and then, 50 years later, came back to ask for benefits from the state. “What I hope is that not even my worst enemy would ever have to go through the tragic experiences that we, the prisoners of war, endured.”
Regarding the testimony he gave before Parliament, Mr. Christou explained that he learned of the story from the prisoner’s wife herself in 2018, four years after her husband’s death. In fact, when he asked her why she was sharing this story with him, since her husband himself had not wanted to reveal the torment he had endured at the hands of Turkish soldiers, he received the reply, “I want to tell this so that this burden will be lifted from my heart.”
“No allowance or medication can heal these wounds. It is too late to offer us psychological support. We will carry this trauma with us.”
The President of the 1974 War Prisoners Association also has the testimony of a man who was raped by Attila when he was a young boy, though he was not a prisoner of war.
“Yesterday in Parliament, the new Deputy Minister of Social Welfare was present; they gave her this man’s name and phone number, and I asked her to help him. He should be included among the victims and receive the same benefits that we do.”
Mr. Christou emphasized the need to establish a Registry of Victims of Turkish Atrocities, as most of the people in need of immediate financial and psychological support are now over 70 years old, expressing concern that they will die without receiving any assistance.
“The State has a duty to treat us as human beings with psychological and physical problems. And those who currently hold political and government offices—positions that are temporary—must know that they owe it to us.”
READ ALSO: Shocking testimony: A 1974 prisoner of war revealed to his wife before he died that he had been raped by Turks
