HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Brother of prisoner who died in jail: The State wanted revenge 

  Vefa Kartal was on the list of seriously ill prisoners released by the IHD, but continued to remain behind bars despite his serious condition.
• Action in Ulm to demand justice for the disappeared people 

  ICAD representatives called on all progressive humanity to stand beside the families of the disappeared people demanding truth and justice.
• Lawyer Ebru Timtik on death fast for 150 days 

  Lawyer Ebru Timtik is on a death fast in a Turkish prison demanding a fair trial. Her colleague Seda Şaraldı visited her in the Silivri prison complex and tells her impressions.
• Ill prisoner Vefa Kartal passes away in Edirne jail  

  Vefa Kartal had been in prison for 26 years and suffered from many health problems.
• Hrant Dink Foundation receives death threat 

  The threat accuses the Hrant Dink Foundation of telling ‘tales of fraternity’, demands the Foundation to leave the country and threatens Rakel Dink and the foundation’s lawyer with death.
• Silivri jail report confirms presence of many Covid-19 cases 

  IHD and lawyers associations visited Silivri prison where 107 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed.
• Sinn Féin expresses concern for lawyers on death fast 

  The lawyers went on death fast as from 5 April demanding justice and the right to a fair trial.
• IHD president labels security forces violence as "systemic" 

  The expansion of the powers of the police and "neighbourhood guards" has led to an increasing number of attacks on the population in recent weeks, said the Human Rights Association (IHD).
• Health condition of prisoner with cancer worsening 

  Mehmet Salih Filiz, a seriously ill prisoner, said that his health condition has deteriorated: "They want to take revenge," he said and called on people to "be the voice of ill prisoners."
• Impunity makes children the target of security forces 

  In Kurdish provinces children are not just the target of state forces such as police or soldiers. In 2010, the state took a step which turned "children who were throwing stones" and who were under 15 into "children who were pushed into crime".
• IHD exposes violation of rights in Van prisons  

  The Human Rights Association Van Branch released a report after a visit to prisons in the city.
• Prisoner Geçgel says he has received threats 

  Halil Geçgel, a prisoner in Bolu F-Type Prison, denounced being threatened.
• HDP: Conditions are worsening in Turkey's prisons 

  HDP called on international institutions and authorities to closely monitor prisons in Turkey and mobilize the mechanisms and resources at their disposal to protect the rights and health of prisoners in Turkey and beyond.
• 25 years of Saturday Mothers: With carnations against the police 

  Twenty-five years ago, the Saturday Mothers first went to Galatasaray High School in Istanbul to demand clarification of the fate of their disappeared relatives. Today they threw carnations over the police bars in the closed square.
• Activists in Stuttgart hold action for the disappeared people  

  An action was organised in Stuttgart to remember the disappeared people of Turkey and pay tribute to the Saturday Mothers.
• 53% more killings of social leaders in Colombia in last 4 months 

  The number of social leaders murdered in Colombia has increased by 53 percent in recent times.
• 15 organisations call for the release of women detained on 22 May 

  Solidarity with the women politicians and activists imprisoned in Amed (Diyarbakır) last week is growing.
• Family of fasting lawyer calls on people to raise their voice 

  The demands of lawyers Aytaç Ünsal and Ebru Timtik, who have been on hunger strike since 5 February demanding a fair trial, have not been met yet.
• Refugees not protected against coronavirus 

  Due to the conditions of the border between Northern and Eastern Kurdistan, more and more people seeking protection are dying on the dangerous creeping routes through the high mountains.
• Police threaten citizens in Nusaybin 

  The Turkish police are trying to create a climate of fear in northern Kurdistan through repression, violence and arrests.
• IHD demands justice and truth for disappeared people 

  The Human Rights Association in Izmir and Amed demanded justice and the truth for the disappeared people.
• Heavy police presence at funeral of Sabri Kaya  

  Sabri Kaya, a seriously ill prisoner who was not released by the AKP-MHP government, was buried under heavy police presence.
• IHD calls for release of Cemil Erdem, suffering from cancer 

  The weekly F virtual sit-in organised by the Human Rights Association (IHD) was dedicated today to 70-year-old seriously ill prisoner Cemil Erdem, who is suffering from cancer.
• IHD Izmir says ill prisoner Sinan Gül must be released 

  The Human Rights Association (İHD) Izmir Branch Prison Commission carried out online the weekly action normally held in front of Sümerbank with the slogan of “Freedom to sick prisoners”.
• Freedom for Ill Prisoners calls for release of Mehmet Can Demir 

  The Freedom for Ill Prisoners Initiative held its 298th week of protest via social media because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.