Human Rights

Latest News

• Disciplinary punishment for prisoners resisting uniform 

  The Diyarbakır D-Type Prison administration issued disciplinary punishments to prisoners who refused go out on visit to protest the one-type uniform practice.
• Three teenagers sexually harassed in Turkish prison 

  Three teenagers in Hatay Children's Prison in Turkey were sexually harassed by law enforcement officers, soldiers, and other prisoners.
• “We will resist the indignity of the uniform” 

  DBP Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel: “The uniform practice is an attack on human dignity, rights and freedoms. We will never accept this indignity imposed upon us. We will increase the resistance against this mindset.”
• PKK and PAJK prisoners: “We will never give in to the uniform” 

  PKK and PAJK prisoners have issued a stern warning against the imposition of a uniform in prisons and said: “They can’t even imagine what we will do.”
• Prisoners will be forced to wear single-type uniform in Turkey 

  A new emergency decree by Turkish government will force all suspects and convicts under arrest for “crimes against the constitutional order” to wear single-type uniforms during their court appearances.
• Seriously injured prisoner tortured by Turkish police 

  A seriously injured PKK guerrilla was tortured by Turkish soldiers and police during his interrogation, a prominent Kurdish journalist said.
• Kurdish political prisoner threatened by intelligence in Rojhilat 

  A Kurdish political prisoner detained in the youth ward of the Orumiyeh Central Prison was interrogated and threatened by the Special Office of the Intelligence Ministry in Prison.
• Turkey rejects another appeal for a meeting with Öcalan 

  Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has rejected yet another appeal by the families of İmralı prisoners to meet with their relatives, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and three other inmates.
• Scores of children on prison hunger strike in Turkey 

  Scores of children in Hatay Juvenile Prison and Denizli Juvenile Prison started a hunger strike to protest the prison conditions.
• Prisoners in Tarsus: “We have been tortured with electricity” 

  One of the prisoners in Tarsus Hadi Elçiçek spoke with his son on the phone and told him about the torture they had been subjected to since December 7 and said, “We have also been subjected to torture with electricity.”
• Prisoner with cancer Seyran Demir faces death 

  Father Nadir Demir stated that his imprisoned cancer patient daughter Seyran Demir is facing imminent death and called for solidarity.
• UNAMI investigates human rights violations in Tuz Khurmatu 

  A team from the Human Rights office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) conducted a mission to Tuz Khurmatu in Salah al-Din Governorate on 7 December 2017 to investigate reports of punitive destruction of property of residents.
• Prisoners in Osmaniye to go on hunger strike 

  Prisoners in the Osmaniye T2 Closed Prison will be going on an indefinite-alternate hunger strike because of the rights violations they have suffered.
• Kurdish political prisoner in Rojhilat on hunger strike 

  Political prisoner Ramin Hisen Penahi in Rojhilat’s Sine (Sanandaj) province is on hunger strike for a week in order for his legal demands to be met.
• Freemuse starts a campaign for Kurdish musician 

  Freemuse, an international organization that defends artistic freedoms, started a campaign for Kurdish musician Ferhat Tunç.
• Zeinab Jalalian still refuses to take medication 

  Kurdish political prisoner Zeinab Jalalian has been refusing to take medication since February 2017 in order to protest the inhumane practices in prison.
• Human Rights Week: “Torture has been legitimized in Turkey” 

  TİHV Diyarbakır Representative Barış Yavuz pointed out that torture has been legitimized by AKP’s blatant practices and said that inhumane torture practices continue in prisons they are not allowed to inspect.
• Another appeal to meet with Öcalan rejected 

  Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has rejected another appeal by the families of İmralı prisoners to meet with their relatives, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and three other inmates.
• Lawyers’ appeal to visit Öcalan rejected for the 710th time 

  The appeal of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers to meet with their client has been rejected for the 710th time by Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
• Canine search in Turkish prison where a hunger strike continues 

  It came out that canine searches are conducted in Kürkçüler F Type Prison where political prisoners are on hunger strike.
• Kurdish political prisoner tortured heavily in Rojhilat 

  Kurdish political prisoner Efşin Hisên Penahi, who had been detained and arrested in Rojhilat, has been subjected to torture by Iranian forces. Efşin’s health had suffered after the intense torture, but reportedly hasn’t been taken to a hospital.
• Öcalan’s family has their appeal for a visit to İmralı rejected 

  Turkish officials have rejected the appeal of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s family for a visit to İmralı Island Prison where he is held in aggravated isolation.
• ECHR accepts appeal by Amedspor 

  The European Court of Human Rights has accepted an appeal by Amedspor and requested defense from Turkey.
• Political prisoners tortured in Patnos: Broken ribs 

  Political prisoners exiled from Samsun to Patnos have been tortured to the point where their ribs were broken.
• Dozens of prisoners forcibly transferred to other prisons 

  Dozens of prisoners in Balıkesir and Muş provinces have been sent to prisons in Kayseri and İzmir.