HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Lawyer Eren Baskin: de facto state of emergency in Hakkari 

  IHD Hakkari branch executive, lawyer Eren Baskin, said that a de facto state of emergency was implemented in the entire region.
• Refugee woman attacked by racist neighbours and insulted by the police 

  The Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association denounced that a refugee woman was first attacked by neighbours and later insulted at a police station in Istanbul.
• Political prisoners describe their conditions, calling for immediate action 

  Political prisoners in Izmir have made their detention conditions public in a letter and call for support from human rights organizations.
• MEBYA-DER: Authorities deliberately delay delivery of guerrilla' remains to families 

  MEBYA-DER found that the Turkish state did not deliver the guerrilla's remains to their families despite their identification and added that this for the families was another torture.
• UN demands Libya inquiry into shooting of escaping migrants 

  Libyan security forces used "unnecessary and disproportionate" force to detain African migrants, shooting dead some of those trying to escape, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday as it demanded an inquiry into the violence.
• Refugees in Italian graveyard get reburied in mass grave 

  As relatives of those seeking refuge who drowned on the way to Europe have found out, the bodies buried in Italy were excavated and reburied in a mass grave. According to the authorities, for “lack of space” in the graveyard.
• Violations of rights increase in Silivri prison 

  In Silivri Prison, the guards raided the wards, arbitrarily moved prisoners from wards and blocks and cut off communication between the prisoners.
• Pressure against inmates on the rise in Kandıra prison 

  Pressure against prisoners has increased in the Kandıra Prison. Former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Figen Yüksekdağ, who is held in Kandıra Prison, said, “The government is directly responsible for possible deaths.”
• Dozens of political prisoners face torture by guards in Tekirdağ jail 

  Dozens of political prisoners were subjected to torture by guards in Tekirdağ, where they were transferred from Kırıkkale.
• Lawyers denounce increase in rights violations in prisons in Urfa and Izmir 

  A squad of at least 80 guards in riot gear raided cells in an Urfa prison and harassed dozens of inmates. Some sustained broken bones while being moved to a windowless cell with dirty water.
• IHD Congress re-elects Eren Keskin and Öztürk as co-chairs  

  At the 20th general assembly of the IHD human rights organization in Ankara, Eren Keskin and Öztürk Türkdoğan were re-elected as co-chairs.
• Urgent call for the release of ill prisoner Ayşe Özdoğan 

  The Freedom for Ill Prisoners Initiative called for the immediate release of Ayşe Özdoğan who is suffering from cancer.
• ÖHD lawyer Işık: after the hunger strikes ended, violations of rights increased in jails 

  ÖHD lawyer Mehtap Işık said that after the hunger strikes ended, violations of rights increased in prisons, almost as if the authorities wanted to take revenge.
• Ill prisoner Atilla Coşkun suffers from cancer but is not released 

  Ill prisoner Atilla Coşkun, held in Düzce T Type Prison, is not released on the grounds of "disciplinary punishments", despite the fact that he has brain cancer.
• Court postpones sentence of Roboski trial to January 

  The sentence at the trial for alleged “terrorist propaganda” against relatives of the victims of the Roboski massacre because of their participation in a commemorative event has been postponed.
• Ill prisoner Abdülkadir Baybars on hunger strike against solitary confinement 

  Ill prisoner Abdülkadir Baybars, who has been in solitary confinement for 4 years, has been on a hunger strike for 13 days.
• Şenyaşar family: We will fight to the end 

  The Şenyaşar family continuing their resistance said, “We will fight to the end. We do not want this crime against humanity to be whitewashed.”
• Call for a health committee for Öcalan 

  The Health Union in North and East Syria and the Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Committee called on international health organizations to establish a health committee to monitor the health status of the Kurdish leader.
• Human rights rapporteur criticizes criminalisation of human rights defenders in Turkey 

  Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, stated that the anti-terror law in Turkey is used against human rights defenders.
• Şenyaşar family: We will continue our vigil until justice is provided 

  The Şenyaşar family said that they will continue their resistance until justice is provided.
• ‘Roboski is a shame, a bleeding wound and a quest of justice’ 

  Justice in these lands could only be served through Roboski, said the Justice for Roboski Initiative in a statement marking the 117th month after the Roboski massacre.
• MED TUHAD-FED co-chair, Ahmet Doğan: The issue of ill prisoners should be resolved 

  MED TUHAD-FED co-chair, Ahmet Doğan, said that a solution should be found for ill prisoners. The situation of ill prisoners in Turkish prisons is getting worse.
• 13 ill prisoners died while in prison in first three months of 2021, says IHD 

  Human rights activist Meral Nergis Şahin said: "The situation for sick prisoners is getting worse and they urgently need treatment which is systematically hindered or denied. There is a de facto policy of death in prisons."
• Saturday Mothers: “Leave the Galatasaray Square you have occupied!” 

  The Saturday Mothers said, "Get out of the Galatasaray Square you have occupied. Don't be rulers who occupy public places and convert them into police stations."
• No place for disabled boy in Van courthouse! 

  The only prisoner left out of the 48 people arrested in Özalp in 2020 is City Council member Nevzat Öner. The judge, after seeing Öner’s disabled son Diyar at the hearing, made very racist comments.