HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Saturday Mothers attacked and detained again on the 948th week of action for the disappeared 

  In Istanbul, the Saturday Mothers' vigil was once again violently prevented and at least 18 members of the initiative were taken into custody by the police.
• Rojbin Çetin sentenced to ten years in prison 

  The Kurdish politician and activist Sevil Rojbin Çetin has been sentenced to ten years in prison for membership of the PKK. When she was arrested, the Kurdish woman was severely tortured.
• Families of Imrali prisoners apply for a visit 

  The families of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan and the other prisoners on Imrali applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the Imrali Prison Directorate for a meeting with their relatives.
• Turkey has highest prevalence of modern slavery in Europe and Central Asia, says report 

  According to the Global Slavery Index published by the Australian human rights organization Walk Free, Turkey has the highest prevalence of modern slavery in Europe and Central Asia.
• Son of seriously ill prisoner Mehmet Emin Özkan released from jail 

  The son of seriously ill prisoner Mehmet Emin Özkan, who has been in jail with him for 5 years, has been released. Özkan's first words were "My father should be released".
• Former Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to jail term in Iran 

  The Iranian regime’s repression of the Kurdish population continues unabated.
• Lawyers request visit with Öcalan and other prisoners in Imrali 

  Lawyers from the Asrın Law Office applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and Imralı Prison Directorate with a request to meet with their client, Abdullah Öcalan.
• HDP Co-Chair Sancar visits Emine Şenyaşar 

  Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Mithat Sancar visited Emine Şenyaşar, who has been carrying out a justice vigil for her murdered family members for over two years, at her house in Urfa province.
• Suspicious death of a student in Bitlis 

  Officials of a student accommodation in Bitlis said that a young boy called Habip Sivi committed suicide, but the family of the Kurdish student does not believe in the suicide hypothesis, and said that their second request for an autopsy was refused.
• Kurdish workers detained and beaten by police in Kadıköy talk about their experience 

  Kurdish workers, who were detained under torture and released on condition of judicial control while sitting on the beach of Kadıköy, said that they "we were beaten at the police station, and threatened us not to ask for a battering report."
• Renewed attack on Saturday Mothers in Istanbul 

  After the partly violent break-up of their vigil at Galatasaray Square in Istanbul, the Saturday Mothers were once again attacked by the police in front of the Human Rights Association office.
• Report on mass detentions on 25 April: Judiciary is instrumentalized for political purposes 

  The Association of Lawyers for Freedom and Diyarbakir Bar Association draw attention to the violations of rights and demand the immediate release of their arrested members.
• Saturday Mothers detained again on the 947th week of action 

  In Istanbul, the Saturday Mothers' vigil was once again prevented and at least 10 members of the initiative were taken into custody by the police.
• People in Iran protest execution of three political prisoners 

  People in Iran took to the streets to protest the execution of three political prisoners.
• Struggle of Şenyaşar family continues 

  Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit have been holding a Justice Vigil in front of the Courthouse of Urfa since 9 March 2021, demanding those responsible for the massacre of family members in 2018 to be brought to account.
• Buldan commemorates victims of enforced disappearances: We will never give up our fight for justice 

  In a speech marking the International Week of Struggle against Forced Disappearances, HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan said: “We have an opportunity to eliminate fascism in the second round of the presidential election.”
• Protest by Xosnav Ata in front of OPCW reaches day 288 

  Defend Kurdistan member Linda Weerts and a delegation from Bashur visited Xosnav Ata, who has been protesting in front of the OPCW in Den Haag for about a year the chemical attacks by the Turkish state.
• 78 percent disabled prisoner in wheelchair is not released 

  Prisoner Nurettin Başaran, who is 78 percent disabled, is not released even though he is wheelchair-bound and taken care of by a caregiver.
• KOMAW members take over Freedom for Öcalan Vigil in Strasbourg 

  KOMAW members took over the Freedom for Öcalan Vigil in Strasbourg.
• Human Rights Association: Enforced disappearance is a policy of annihilation 

  IHD demands that all relevant archives of the state be opened in order to reveal the fate of those who were forcibly disappeared and to identify the perpetrators of the unsolved murders.
• Hearing of Emine Şenyaşar postponed 

  The hearing of Emine Şenyaşar who is accused of "insulting" AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız has been postponed.
• 2022 saw the highest number of executions in five years, says Amnesty International 

  Amnesty International released its annual review of the death penalty, recording the highest number of executions in five years.
• Saturday Mothers: We will vote for democracy and freedom 

  The Istanbul initiative of the Saturday Mothers has formulated clear demands to the new government in the run-up to the parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey tomorrow.
• French delegation visits Emine Şenyaşar 

  Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit  have been holding a Justice Vigil in front of the Courthouse of Urfa since 9 March 2021, demanding those responsible for the massacre of family members to be brought to account.
• Seriously ill political prisoner passes away after release from prison in Amed 

  Abdulhalim Kırtay has died 51 days after his release from prison in Amed. The former political prisoner had been sentenced to life imprisonment and released after thirty years in a terminally ill condition.