Solidarity actions with Saturday Mothers in Stuttgart and Berlin

Solidarity actions with the Saturday Mothers took place in Stuttgart and Berlin.

Solidarity actions with the Saturday Mothers took place in Stuttgart and Berlin. Activists protested against the opening of the trial against 46 participants in the sit-in number 700 in Istanbul on 25 August 2018. Like every Saturday mothers met in Istanbul to demanding justice for their relatives who "disappeared" after their arrest. The police attacked the gathering with tear gas, water cannons and plastic bullets and forcibly arrested dozens of people.

Stuttgart: The state must account for thousands of people who have disappeared

The protesters in Stuttgart said: “The Saturday Mothers went on a sit-in to ask about their relatives who 'disappeared' in police custody. That is why the Turkish state is suing them. The Turkish state, which would have to answer for thousands of missing persons, is instead bringing their relatives to justice."

Solidarity rally in Berlin

A solidarity rally with the Saturday Mothers was also organised in Berlin. In a statement, the left-wing organization ICAD (International Committee against Disappearances) sharply criticized the trial that opens tomorrow, Thursday, and said the Turkish judiciary is a partisan and extended arm of the AKP / MHP regime. During the action, a short statement from the initiative was read out, quoting late activist Elmas Eren, mother of Hayrettin Eren: “My son couldn't harm a fly. We gathered in Galatasaray Square and asked about him and the fate of all the other people who disappeared. We were peaceful, just like my son was. But we were banned from this place. I will never give up looking for my son and I won’t give up this place."

Disappearances continue

In its declaration, ICAD addressed the repression in Turkey and North Kurdistan: “The Turkish state is attacking the just struggle of social opposition in order to silence it. Tens of thousands of democrats, progressive, revolutionary opponents of fascism, intellectuals, writers, journalists, academics and students have been arrested for their political activities. The practice of the 'forced disappearance' also continues.”

ICAD called for the truth on the case of the student Gülistan Doku, who has 'disappeared' in Dersim since 5 January 2020, the murder and enforced disappearance of the parents of Chaldean priest Remzi Diril, Hurmüz Diril (71) and Şimoni Diril (65). They disappeared on 11 January 2020. Şimoni Diril's lifeless body was found on 20 March in a small stream near her village. However, there is still no trace of Hurmüz Diril.

Gökhan Güneş: Kidnapped and tortured by civil security forces

ICAD also referred to the attempted forced disappearance of Gökhan Güneş: “On 20 January 2021, Gökhan Güneş, a member of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), was kidnapped by plain clothes security forces in front of the factory where he worked. Due to the rapid and spreading actions of his family, comrades, democratic institutions and activists, the case was exposed in a short time. As a result of this public pressure, these mysterious security forces had to release Gökhan Güneş after six days. Güneş stated that he was tortured for six days, threatened with rape and death, and pressured to work as an informant for the state."

ICAD: Turkish state must be accountable

ICAD said: “The Saturday Mothers cannot be judged! The state is responsible for thousands of people who were forcibly disappeared in Turkey and Kurdistan! The state and, accordingly, all people responsible for these disappearances must be held accountable. This crime against humanity by the Turkish state is what must be condemned!”