25 detained in police attack on Saturday Mothers in Istanbul

The Saturday Mothers have again been attacked by the police in Istanbul and 25 people have been taken into custody.

The Saturday Mothers have continued their action in Istanbul for their relatives who disappeared in state custody and the punishment of the perpetrators for the 944th week. Despite a contrary ruling by the Turkish Constitutional Court, the initiative was again denied access to their ancestral rally site in front of the Galatasaray High School on Istiklal Avenue. This Saturday, too, the square was besieged by the police. When the Saturday Mothers and their supporters arrived, they were surrounded and 25 people were taken into custody. Journalists were obstructed while documenting the police crackdown.

Those detained include the Human Rights Association (IHD) Istanbul branch co-chair Gülseren Yoleri, Hrant Dink’s son Arat Dink and HDP politician Veli Saçılık.

The Saturday Mothers' Initiative pointed out that decisions of the Constitutional Court are binding on all organs of the legislative, executive and judicial branches, and that the Governor's Office and the Istanbul police are disregarding them. "All actors exercising public power must abide by the decisions of the Constitutional Court, which are final and binding. Failure to comply with the constitutional provisions is a serious violation of the principle of the rule of law and the constitutional order on which this principle is based. There is no doubt that this situation entails criminal, administrative and legal responsibilities for those involved. Galatasaray is a place of remembrance where we hold our loved ones whose existence is denied. It is part of our endeavour to carry the events of the past into the present and the future. Being in Galatasaray Square is our constitutional right. We will not give up this right."