The Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) held a joint press conference at the İHD Headquarters to mark the 74th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and  Human Rights Week. A report on human rights violations in Turkey in 2022 was released during the press conference.

DATA FROM THE REPORT

The report said that, according to the data of the Ministry of Justice, the number of detainees and convicts has increased from 55,870 in 2005 to 336,315 as of December 1, 2022. According to the report, the number of prisoners has increased nearly sixfold in 17 years.

The report revealed that at least 6 thousand 19 people lost their lives, and 8 thousand 562 people were injured due to the armed conflicts between 2015 and 2021. Moreover, 1 person was killed and 20 others were injured as a result of racist attacks against the Kurds in 2022.

'STATE OF EMERGENCY BECOMES PERMANENT'

Türkdoğan emphasized that there has been a permanent state of emergency in the country since 2016. Türkdoğan said: “Turkey is governed by an authoritarian presidency under one-man rule. We are fighting for human rights under  authoritarian rule.”

IMRALI ISOLATION

Türkdoğan remarked: “Isolation is against human dignity. The isolation in the Imrali prison needs to be lifted as soon as possible and Öcalan’s family and lawyers should meet him immediately.

FINCANCI’S ARREST

Türkdoğan said: “The arrest of Korur Fincancı is unacceptable. What needed to be done was not the arrest of Şebnem, but the necessary investigations. We will go to Istanbul on December 23 and we will free our friend Şebnem.”

RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY AND DEMONSTRATION

Türkdoğan added: “The Saturday Mothers were again not allowed to stage a sit-in in Galatasaray Square. Women, LGBTI+s, Saturday Mothers, peace and human rights defenders, students, environmentalists, workers and laborers, HDP members who want to enjoy their right to assembly and demonstration, guaranteed by the Constitution, have faced the cruel and shameful violence of law enforcement.”

KURDISH QUESTION

Türkdoğan underlined that “the most important problem in our country is the Kurdish problem”: “The crackdown on political parties continues. The HDP is facing a closure case. The Kurdish question remains as one of the main obstacles to Turkey's democratization. As rights defenders, we have always advocated a democratic, peaceful and just solution to the Kurdish problem. We keep saying that democracy and human rights can be protected by bringing peace to these lands.”

ARREST OF JOURNALISTS

Türkdoğan said that they did not accept the detention of 9 journalists in the past months: “Journalists should not be in prisons. We will continue to defend the values of democracy. I would like to express that if we want to create an alternative for human rights in the upcoming elections, it is necessary for all social opposition to cooperate. If this happens, the peoples of Turkey will have a future in favour of democracy.”