HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Permanent People’s Tribunal hears about Turkish attacks on energy and water supplies in NE Syria  

  The third session of the Permanent People’s Tribunal Rojava vs Turkey addressed the crimes against civilian infrastructure, water supplies, hospital and health facilities, as well as the environment.
• ÖHD: No political prisoner has been released from Tokat Prison in the past year 

  The Urfa branch of the ÖHD said that no political prisoner had been released from Tokat T-Type Prison in the past year due to the arbitrary practices of the Prison Administration and Observation Board.
• Iran sentences a Kurdish activist to execution, another to imprisonment 

  According to reports from the KHRN and Radio Farda, the Iranian judiciary has handed down severe sentences to two young Kurdish activists.
• Süleyman Deprem: Alawites should organize on the basis of self-defense 

  Süleyman Deprem, one of the leaders of the Sinemilli Seedbed, said that it is necessary for Alawites to create a political, social, and religious organization based on self-defense and focused on awareness.
• Çetin Uyar: Rights violations in prison have increased  

  Çetin Uyar, Co-chair of Wan TUHAY-DER, said that human rights violations in Turkish prisons have increased since the beginning of the talks in Imrali.
• Report on human rights violations in Rojhilat in January 

  Human rights violations against Kurdish civilians and activists in the Kurdish region of Iran continued in January 2025.
• Lawyer Ceylan Ukay: Deaths of refugees at Van Border must be prevented 

  Lawyer Ceylan Ukay, a member of the Van Bar Association’s Migration and Human Rights Commission, said that more legal regulations are needed to stop the deaths of migrants attempting to cross the Van border.
• Kurdish artist Mazlum Jinda arrested for singing in Kurdish 

  Kurdish artist Mazlum Jinda was sentenced to 22 months and 15 days in prison for singing in Kurdish.
• Human Rights Watch: Drone attack on ambulance in North-East Syria constitutes a war crime 

  HRW calls on Ankara to investigate the drone strike on a Kurdish Red Crescent ambulance in northern Syria on January 18 and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
• Permanent People's Tribunal publishes names of judges for session on Rojava 

  The judges that will sit at the Permanent People's Tribunal session on Rojava have been announced.
• Message from arrested lawyer Fırat Epözdemir 

  Arrested lawyer Fırat Epözdemir said that "anyone with a legal identity will clearly see that my detention is not legal but political, and that it is an operation against the Istanbul Bar Association."
• Prisoners in Kırşehir S Type Prison go on hunger strike against violation of rights 

  Prisoners in Kırşehir S Type Prison went on hunger strike against the violation of their rights.
• Iranian court issues arrest warrant against Jina Amini's father 

  Emced Amini, the father of Jina Amini, said that an Iranian court has issued a detention order against him for protesting the death sentence against Pakshan Azizi.
• Political prisoner Adnan Çelebi's release delayed  

  The release of Adnan Çelebi, who has been imprisoned for approximately 31 years, has been postponed once again for three months due to arbitrary reasons.
• Politician Aysel Tuğluk sentenced to 3 years in prison  

  Politician Aysel Tuğluk has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of "spreading terrorist propaganda".
• General strike in East Kurdistan today against death penalty  

  The six largest parties in Eastern Kurdistan have called for a general strike against the death penalty.
• If existing laws are applied, Abdullah Öcalan will be free, say lawyers Hülakü and Yılmaz 

  Ömer Faruk Hülakü and Ercan Yılmaz stressed that Abdullah Öcalan should be granted physical freedom, benefit from the right to hope, and be released in accordance with the normal functioning of the legal system.
• 12 bar associations: Attack on Tishrin is a clear violation of international law 

  12 bar associations denounced the Turkish attacks against the Tishrin Dam, which they called “a violation of the rules of international and humanitarian law.”
• Kurdistan Human Rights Network releases Annual Report for 2024 

  The Kurdistan Human Rights Network report examines instances of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians in Iran during 2024.
• Crimes committed by the Turkish state to be tried by Permanent People's Tribunal in Brussels 

  The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal on Rojava vs. Turkey will be held on 5-6 February in Brussels.
• Prisoner Kaya: We are being left to die 

  Prisoner Kenan Kaya suffered two heart attacks. Despite that, he is not being given his medication. “My condition is serious, we are being left to die,” he said.
• UN experts: Death sentence against Pakhshan Azizi is a violation of international human rights law 

  UN experts urge Iranian authorities to immediately revoke the death sentence against Pakhshan Azizi, investigate allegations of torture and denial of fair trial rights, and put an end to the harassment and targeting of women activists in Iran.
• Kurdish activists demand annulment of Pakhshan Azizi’s death penalty 

  A group of civil, human rights, political and media activists from Kurdistan call for the annulment of Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence and a thorough re-investigation of the judicial proceedings and legal case.
• 'Dismissal of mayors without a finalised court decision violates the rule of law and democracy' 

  Denouncing the appointment of trustees to municipalities as a violation of the rule of law and democracy, 30 bar associations called for the reinstatement of the co-mayors and council members removed from office.
• Women's organisations and Shirin Ebadi call for action for Pakshan Azizi sentenced to death in Iran 

  Pakshan Azizi is a women's rights defender, journalist and civil society activist. The death sentence handed to her was upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court last week.