HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Kurdish political prisoner in Iran denied rights amid harsh prison conditions 

  Modares Gorji, a journalist and a prominent veteran activist of the women’s movement in Kurdistan and Iran, has now served a full year of her 16-month sentence but remains imprisoned.
• Kurdish prisoner sentenced to solitary confinement over Kurdish song lyrics in his notebooks 

  Agit Kortak was sentenced to solitary confinement over the writings in his notebooks, containing excerpts from Abdullah Öcalan’s book “The Sociology of Freedom” and lyrics of some Kurdish songs and revolutionary Turkish songs.
• Everyone is a suspect in Iran: A witch hunt is underway 

  Following Israel’s attack on Iran, the state has escalated its pressure on the public to a new level. The surviving regime has launched a systematic wave of arrests and detentions under accusations of espionage.
• Kurdish political prisoner in Iran in critical condition as authorities block medical access 

  Motalleb Ahmadian, a Kurdish political prisoner serving a 30-year sentence, suffers from duodenal cancer, diaphragmatic hernia, spinal canal stenosis, and a urinary tract infection. His condition is now considered critical and worrying.
• Lawyer Aba: Steps regarding the right to hope will consolidate the resolution process 

  Remarking that Turkey has not implemented the ECtHR ruling on Abdullah Öcalan, lawyer Murat Aba said, “Recognizing the right to hope will be an important step toward reconciliation within society.”
• Burcu Çıra: We are determined and will not give up the fight for our rights 

  Burcu Çıra is marching to Ankara with 25 teachers. She said they represent 400,000 private sector educators and will not give up the fight for their rights.
• No verdict in 'Return to Life' operation case 

  No ruling was issued in the case concerning the 2000 Bayrampaşa Prison operation where 12 prisoners lost their lives.
• ‘Pit-type’ prisons are the new sites of torture 

  Thousands of prisoners are held in isolation in Y- and S-type ‘pit-type’ prisons, with no full data shared by the Ministry of Justice.
• Shirin Ebadi: Torture has increased in Evin Prison following Israel's attack 

  Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi has reported that Iranian security forces tortured and used violence against prisoners in Evin Prison following Israel's attack on the prison.
• Report: 631 seriously ill prisoners, 359 executions postponed arbitrarily, violations are systematic 

  The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) and the Federation of Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED) announced their six-month report based on 3,500 applications received from 115 prisons.
• Türkdoğan: Legal guarantees for the process are essential 

  Öztürk Türkdoğan stressed that the process, especially regarding ill prisoners, was proceeding extremely slowly.
• Altan: There is a long road toward an honorable peace 

  Bahadır Altan said that the road to an honorable peace is long and underlined that the state must also take concrete steps.
• Number of children with judicial record is increasing 

  According to TÜİK, there were 178,834 children with judicial records as of last year. The Ministry of Justice, however, reported the number as 211,946.
• According to Iran, 71 people died in Israeli attack on Evin Prison 

  According to a statement by Iran’s Judiciary, 71 people were killed in the Israeli attack on Evin Prison, located in northern Tehran, last Monday.
• Workers at Izmir Metropolitan Municipality fear dismissal over leave 

  Workers are avoiding even annual leave at the municipality due to fear of being dismissed following the recent strike.
• Kurdish activist detained in Iran denied treatment despite serious health concerns 

  60-year-old Kurdish civil rights activist Ghader Kharamanfar, who has been in custody since December 2024, is suffering from coronary artery disease, fatty liver, high blood pressure, and knee osteoarthritis.
• KHRN: Iran secretly executed three Kurdish prisoners 

  Three Kurdish prisoners in Orumiyeh Central Prison were executed in haste despite the fact that the Supreme Court had not yet formally communicated their death sentences to their lawyers.
• ÖHD report: Release of 93 prisoners blocked in Marmara prisons 

  The Istanbul branch of the ÖHD reported that 93 inmates in 17 prisons across the Marmara Region were denied release.
• Final declaration of 'Memory and Justice' conference in Amed announced 

  The 'Memory and Justice' conference held in Amed underlined that confronting the past is essential for achieving peace.
• Saturday Mother Emine Ocak in intensive care 

  Saturday Mother Emine Ocak was in intensive care after having a heart attack on 20 June.
• Report exposes serious human rights violations in Bolu Prison 

  A new report by DEM Party MP Newroz Uysal Aslan reveals serious human rights violations in Bolu’s high-security prison and urges the Turkish parliament to take immediate action.
• Celiac journalist Erkılınç denied medical treatment in prison 

  Eren Keskin visited journalist Perihan Sevda Erkılınç, who is imprisoned in Bakırköy Prison and suffers from celiac disease and asthma,and and said that her health is worsening.
• Hunger strike in Basel demands closure of isolation-type prison cells 

  A three-day hunger strike in Basel called for international solidarity against isolation in Turkish and Hungarian prisons and demanded freedom for SGDF prisoners.
• AI: Unlawful use of force by police against protestors in Turkey may amount to torture 

  Amnesty International documents police violence during and in the aftermath of largely peaceful nationwide protests that erupted following the detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, and 91 others on 19 March 2025.
• Imprisoned for 32 years, Nedim Yılmaz sees his release postponed for the eighth time 

  The release of Nedim Yılmaz, a prisoner behind bars for 32 years, has been postponed for the eighth time.