HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Mother searching for her son's remains for 29 years to apply to the Human Rights Association 

  79-year-old Nefise Erkek is preparing to apply to the Human Rights Association (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch to find the remains of her son Miğdat Erkek, who was martyred in a clash in the countryside of the city in 1996.
• Eren Keskin: Ill prisoners must be released without delay 

  Eren Keskin welcomed the PKK’s decision to lay down arms but said the state must act.
• ECtHR requests statement from Turkey on civilian killings in basements in Cizre 

  The ECtHR has requested Turkey to submit a statement in the case of civilians killed in the basements in Cizre, Şırnak in 2016. The case concerns possible violations of the right to life during the military siege.
• Leyla Güven: The state must prove its sincerity by releasing ill prisoners  

  The IHD’s 12th congress in Hakkari brought together political parties, civil society groups, and Peace Mothers.
• ESP launches 2-day hunger strike 

  The ESP has launched a two-day hunger strike in Dersim in protest against "pit-type" prisons.
• Torture, strip searches and denial of care in 20 Turkish prisons 

  The Diyarbakir Bar Association, ÖHD, IHD, and TUAY-DER documented torture, forced strip searches, and the denial of medical care in 20 prisons.
• Urgent call from Geneva for Maxmur: UN must act now 

  Kurdish demonstrators gathered in front of the United Nations Office in Geneva to call for international action against the escalating pressure on Maxmur Camp.
• Support grows for 'No to Execution' campaign 

  Political prisoners in 38 jails launched a campaign support across East Kurdistan, Rojhilat.
• IHD Dersim: UN Convention on enforced disappearances must be signed 

  The Human Rights Association Dersim Branch held a statement at Seyit Rıza Square..
• ISIG: At Least 2,728 young workers have died in occupational homicides over the past 12 years 

  The ISIG released a report titled 'Young Workers and Occupational Homicides' covering the period from 2013 to the first four months of 2025.
• Threats from the Prison Director to hunger strikers in Buca 

  Zerdeşt Oduncu has reported that he and others have been on a hunger strike for a week and that they have been threatened by the prison director.
• IHD Diyarbakır General Assembly calls for 'constitutional guarantee' 

  The IHD Diyarbakır branch held its 18th General Assembly, where participants stressed the urgent need for constitutional guarantees.
• DEM Party: Confronting enforced disappearances is vital for peace and democracy 

  The DEM Party emphasized that confronting the enforced disappearances of the past is essential to building peace and a democratic society.
• Saturday Mothers call for confrontation with the past for social peace 

  DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan, who participated in the Saturday Mothers' protest, called for confrontation with the past for social peace and for the demands of the relatives of the disappeared to be met.
• Iran upholds death sentence against famous rapper extradited from Turkey 

  Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence handed down to Amir Tataloo, a famous Iranian rapper extradited from Turkey, on charges of “blasphemy”.
• Gülseren Yoleri: Restorative justice needed to enable genuine social reconciliation 

  Lawyer Gülseren Yoleri said that all mechanisms of restorative justice must be established for genuine social reconciliation.
• Criminal complaint over torture in Erzincan prison 

  The Amed Bar Association filed a criminal complaint with the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about strip searches, torture, and ill-treatment that occurred at Erzincan Prison.
• Rihan Gök: Prisoner given cancer drugs without diagnosis 

  Lawyer Rihan Gök said that Imdat Bingöl is being treated with cancer drugs in Erzurum without a proper diagnosis or medical explanation.
• Mehmet Nezir Aslan released after 30 years of imprisonment 

  After serving 30 years in prison, Mehmet Nezir Aslan was warmly welcomed in his hometown of Batman.
• Six Kurdish civilians detained for months without trial in Mahabad 

  All six men have been formally charged with “membership of groups opposed to the Islamic Republic”, and their case has been referred to a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad. They have been denied legal representation since their arrest.
• Kurdish political prisoner in Iran faces imminent execution as second request for a retrial rejected 

  The Iranian Supreme Court has rejected the second appeal for a retrial of Kurdish political prisoner Hatem Özdemir, who was sentenced to death in May 2024.
• Justice Minister responds to DEM Party’s request for Öcalan to meet with journalists and politicians 

  Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç responded to DEM Party’s request for Abdullah Öcalan to be allowed to meet with journalists and politicians in İmralı, saying, “What needs to be done within the legal framework can be carried out.”
• ESP: Pit-type prisons are a threat to all, urgent action is needed 

  ESP members ended a three-day hunger strike in solidarity with prisoners demanding the closure of pit-type prisons.
• Female prisoners punished for 'hugging and singing' 

  Nine female prisoners were given disciplinary punishments for 'hugging and singing' during the open visits held on 21 April at Şakran Women’s Closed Prison in Izmir.
• ISIG: At least 152 workers, including 8 children, killed in one month 

  The Occupational Health and Safety Observatory released its April 2025 workplace fatalities report.