HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Turkey denies "right to hope" for Abdullah Öcalan 

  According to the European Convention on Human Rights, prisoners must have the prospect of a life in freedom. In the case of Abdullah Öcalan, Turkey is invalidating the "right to hope".
• Fleeing Afghans unlawfully returned after coming under fire at the borders of Iran and Turkey 

  Amnesty International interviewed 74 Afghans who had been pushed back from Iran and Turkey, 48 of whom reported coming under fire as they attempted to cross the borders.
• Mother of prisoner threatened with death in Amed jail starts Justice Vigil 

  Gülan Ateş, the mother of Kurbani Özcan, who was reported to have been tortured in prison, started a "Justice Vigil" and said that her son was threatened by the Diyarbakır T Type Prison Director.
• Seriously ill prisoner dies 8 months after being released 

  Seriously ill prisoner Nevzat Çapkın was released from Beşikdüzü T Type Closed Prison 8 months ago. He died in the hospital where he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
• Rojava woman sent to prison in Turkey with her 2-month-old baby 

  Reyhan Abdi, who was taken into custody by the Turkish police on 26 August in Istanbul, was put in prison with her two-month-old baby.
• 13 detained as police attack Saturday Mothers in a cemetery in Istanbul 

  Saturday Mothers were attacked by the Turkish police in the Cemetery of the Nameless in Istanbul. 13 people were taken into custody.
• No news from prisoner tortured by guards in Rize Kalkandere L Type Closed Prison 

  Mirza Çağlayan, who was tortured by the guards in Rize Kalkandere L Type Closed Prison, has not been heard from for 4 days.
• PKK/PAJK prisoners: Our three comrades were deliberately murdered 

  Three political prisoners were killed in Turkish prisons between 14 and 18 August. PKK and PAJK prisoners are calling for accountability for the deaths of the three comrades.
• Police detain prisoners' relatives in Istanbul 

  In Istanbul, the "justice vigil" of relatives of seriously ill prisoners was again attacked by the police. Ten people, mostly women, were detained by the use of force.
• Many detainees test positive for Covid-19 in Van's two prisons but are not treated 

  It has been reported that many detainees tested positive for Covid-19 in Van High Security and F Type Closed Prisons but were not treated.
• Hunger strike in Van and Beşikdüzü prisons continues 

  The hunger strikes against rights violations in jail and arbitrary practices by the prison administration entered the 27th day in Van Prison and the 44th day in Beşikdüzü Prison.
• Mother continues protest in front of Denizli T Type Closed Prison for her seriously ill son 

  Songül İlker is continuing her protest in front of Denizli T Type Closed Prison demanding that her seriously ill son be treated.
• Saturday Mothers: Bans aim to silence the people 

  On the fourth anniversary of the ban imposed on the Saturday Mothers from gathering in Galatasaray Square, the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Saturday Mothers released a joint statement on the repression.
• Makbule Özer referred to Istanbul Forensic Medicine  

  Makbule Özer is 80-years-old. She is seriously ill but she remains in prison in Van High Security jail. The woman was referred to the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK).
• 11 more prisoners join hunger strike in Urfa 

  11 more prisoners joined the hunger strike against repression and torture in Urfa No. 1 T Type Prison. There are now 30 prisoners fasting.
• Ekim Polat has been on hunger strike for 24 days and cannot stand, says his mother 

  Songül Ilker visited her son Ekim Polat, who is seriously ill and on hunger strike, and said that his health condition was deteriorating and that he could not stand.
• Guards torture prisoner in Sincan jail for moving his bunk bed 

  Hakan Tunç, a prisoner in Sincan Prison, was tortured by the guards because he moved his bunk bed.
• There is no age for a Kurdish person in this system, you can be sent to jail at 7 or at 70 

  Drawing attention to the health of his 80-year-old mother and his 79-year-old father, who are in prison, Medeni Özer said: “There is no age for a Kurdish person in the system, you can be sent to jail at 7 or at 70."
• Political prisoners held in same cell wing with ISIS jihadists in Adana 

  Political prisoners held in the high-security Adana-Kürkçüler prison are being held in the same cell wing as ISIS jihadists. Relatives are worried, especially in view of the prisoners' hunger strike against the isolation on Imrali.
• IHD: Deaths in prison are preventable. Failure to prevent them is a crime against humanity 

  Nuray Çevirmen from the IHD underlined that deaths in prisons are preventable and that failure to prevent them is a crime against humanity.
• KCDK-E: Sweden wants to sacrifice Kurds to Turkey 

  In the run-up to Erdogan's visit to Stockholm, Kurdish activist Zinar Bozkurt was taken into custody in Sweden. If extradited to Turkey, he faces torture and a long prison sentence.
• Seriously ill prisoner Bazo Yılmaz dies in Urfa T-type prison 

  Seriously ill prisoner Bazo Yılmaz died in Urfa T-type prison. The 67-year-old was seriously ill with COPD due to the prison conditions and was not released despite the many applications.
• Tekirdağ City Hospital Health Board says hunger striker Gökhan Yıldırım should return in prison 

  Tekirdağ City Hospital Health Board said that prisoner Gökhan Yıldırım, who has been on death fast for 237 days demanding a "fair trial" should be taken to prison.
• HRW on Turkey’s threatened military incursion: Civilians at risk in northern Syria 

  Key concerns include unlawful attacks, worsening humanitarian conditions, ISIS resurgence.
• SDF: Seven Turkish soldiers neutralized in our legitimate response operations 

  Seven Turkish soldiers were killed, and at least three others were injured as a result of the three successful operations by the SDF, which vowed to continue the retaliation operations against the repeated aggressions of the Turkish occupying army.