HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Report on rights violations in Afyon jail published 

  Rights organizations prepared a report on torture in Afyon T Type Closed Prison. In the report, it was exposed that the prison director told guards: "Torture is free. Beat but do not leave a trace."
• House of an elderly couple stormed with seven helicopters in Lice 

  With seven helicopters, the Turkish army landed in a village in Lice to arrest a man wanted for alleged "terror charges". Because he was not found, soldiers mistreated his 66- and 78-years old parents.
• Lawyers of the Asrın Law Office apply to the CPT  

  Asrın Law Office has applied to the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) regarding the violations in the right to visit with families and lawyers against Abdullah Öcalan and Ömer HayriKonar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş.
• ECtHR rejects application for political prisoner without hands 

  Political prisoner Ergin Aktaş has been certified five times that he cannot remain in custody. Nevertheless he is to serve a life sentence in isolation. In the opinion of the ECHR this is justified.
• IHD Van issues report on rights violations in the city's prisons 

  IHD Van Branch has prepared a report on the violations of rights in the city's prisons.
• Amnesty International report denounces crimes in North-East Syria 

  Civilian massacres, indiscriminate attacks, confiscation and looting of property, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, summary killings and abduction documented by Amnesty International in North-East Syria.
• TUHAD-FED: A strong opposition can defend the rights of prisoners 

  Med TUHAD-FED co-chair Mehmet Temizyüz said that the government thinks to have closed all the doors and left out social problems. Instead, he added, a strong opposition could open all doors.
• IHD's Melet: Van has become a city of prohibitions 

  IHD Van Branch chair Murat Melet stated that Van has become a city of prohibitions and said that bans are not governor-bound, but are the will of the political executive.
• TUHAY-DER's Başak denounces rights violations in jails 

  Kinyas Başak from TUHAY-DER Van Branch said that the rights violations in prisons have gone beyond isolation and reached the level of torture.
• TUHAYDER: Isolation in Imrali turns into fascism in Turkey 

  TUHAYDER association condemned the Imrali isolation.
• Deportation and torture exposed in Tekirdağ prison 

  Political prisoners who were deported from Tekirdağ T Type Prison, which is planned to be converted into a woman and child prison, were subjected to harassment and strip searches.
• Call for better protection of children in conflict zones 

  The Security Council unanimously approved a declaration condemning violations of international law related to children.
• Protest musicians on death fast since June in critical condition 

  Musicians should not be in prison because of singing songs, says the HDP.
• Refugees frozen to death in Van cannot be reached 

  Local officials said that in the district of Çaldıran, 13 refugees were reported to have died and that teams would be sent again as the weather conditions improved.
• HDP: Refugee tragedy is a disgrace for humanity 

  The HDP described the freezing to death of 13 refugees in Van as a "disgrace to humanity". The governments of Turkey and Iran are primarily responsible for the deaths in the border region, the party said.
• IHD highlights situation of ill prisoners 

  A weekly action was held in Istanbul and Ankara to draw attention to the conditions of ill prisoners. In particular, the action underlined the situation of seriously ill prisoners Siti Gören and Medeni Tarlan.
• Saturday Mothers: Where is the body of Maksut Tepeli? 

  27-year-old teacher Maksut Tepeli was tortured to death in Istanbul 36 years ago. His body is still missing today. The Istanbul Saturday Mothers demand that the perpetrators be punished.
• Lawyer Demir says no legal ground for most trials of co-mayors 

  The heads of the state do not want the public to object to their own policies, lawyer Demir said.
• HRW: Kurdish mayors’ removal violates voters’ rights 

  HRW called for an end to politically motivated arrests and trials.
• Sick prisoners are left to die 

  The situation of sick prisoners in Turkish prisons continues to deteriorate. Political prisoner Adnan Yalçın has not been treated for five years despite being seriously ill.
• Isolation on Öcalan should be removed, says Kudret Temel 

  "The isolation imposed on Öcalan should be removed immediately, and the violations of rights in prisons must end," said TUHAY-DER Van branch co-chair Kudret Temel.
• "Isolation of Abdullah Öcalan is a system issue" 

  The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) denounces that 71 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Turkey had also agreed, the most fundamental human rights are still violated by Turkey on a daily basis.
• "Öcalan is the main actor of any the solution" 

  The 78'ers Association said that isolation of Öcalan should end immediately and added that "Öcalan is the main actor of any the solution."
• IHD: 1,657 violations of rights recorded in Van in 2019 

  The Human Rights Association (IHD) Van Branch said that it recorded 1,657 violations of rights in the city in 2019.
• Violations of human rights in prisons increasing 

  Violations of human rights in prisons are increasing.