HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Orumiyeh prison forces raid political ward, beat two Kurdish prisoners 

  Prison guards and security officers raided the ward in Orumiyeh Central Prison. At the same time as the guard raid, Kurdish prisoner Hassan Omarpour set himself on fire and suffered burns to his leg.
• No news from refugee Veli after his release 

  There has been no news for days from refugee Ali Veli, who was not heard from after his release from Erzincan L Type Closed Prison and whose images of torture were sent to his family.
• Ömer Öcalan and Özgür Faik Erol meet with CPT officials  

  DEM Party MP Ömer Öcalan and lawyer Özgür Faik Erol met with CPT officials to talk about the aggravated isolation imposed on Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.
• Release of Rozerin Kalkan delayed by 11 months 

  The release of Rozerin Kalkan, who is being held in Şakran, was delayed by 11 months and thus prevented.
• Trade unions call on everyone to celebrate 1 May in Taksim Square 

  Trade unions and labor organizations held a press conference about the 1 May celebrations to be held in Taksim.
• Mothers say Justice Vigil action will take new course  

  MED TUHAD-FED co-chair Eylem Birtane said that they will take the Justice Vigil action to a different phase and will make a statement when the preparations are completed.
• Hurşit Çetin released after 30 years in jail 

  Hurşit Çetin (52), who was held prisoner for 30 years for political reasons, was released from Izmir Şakran No. 1 F Type Closed Prison on Sunday.
• Health of 75-year-old prisoner Hatice Yıldız worsening, says son 

  Alper Yıldız said that his 75-year-old prisoner mother, Hatice Yıldız, whose health condition is gradually deteriorating, often faints in prison.
• At least 425 workers lost their lives in Turkey in three months 

  The highest number of workplace deaths occurred in the construction sector with 105 deaths.
• Kurdish activist Gültekin deported from France to Turkey without court order 

  Kurdish activist Serhat Gültekin was forcibly deported from France to Turkey without a court order. “It is an action of incredible violence that surpasses even Turkey’s brutal methods,” said the CDK-F.
• CDK-F warns of new possible deportation of Kurdish activist to Turkey 

  The Kurdish Democratic Council-France issued an urgent statement warning of a possible new deportation of yet another activist to Turkey.
• Yılmaz: Isolation provoked a crisis in Turkey 

  IHD Amed Branch chair Ercan Yılmaz said that the Imralı isolation system created a crisis in Turkey and added: "This is not a legal crisis, but a crisis created for political reasons."
• KDC-F condemns expulsion of Kurdish activist Kopal 

  The Kurdish Democratic Council in France expressed dismay and strongly condemned the expulsion on 9 April of Mehmet Kopal, a Kurdish activist.
• Report: Police used violence, gas and rubber bullets during intervention in protests in Van 

  A report prepared by the Human Rights Centre of Van Bar Association, Human Rights Association (IHD) and Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) denounced the rights violations during the protests after the local elections.
• Swedish lawyers: Säpo's criminalisation of Kurds in Sweden must end 

  "Instead of suspecting and criminalising the Kurds, Sweden should support a new peace process between the Kurds and Turkey. Criminalising the Kurds and their institutions does not solve the problem, but becomes the problem."
• DEM Party visits Emine Şenyaşar 

  The Justice Vigil carried by Emine Şenyaşar in front of the Turkish Ministry of Justice continued on its 73rd day.
• IHD exposes rights violations in Samsun Kavak S Type Prison 

  The Human Rights Association Ankara Branch Prisons Commission published a report exposing the rights violations in Samsun Kavak S Type Prison.
• Health of 75-year-old prisoner Yıldız deteriorating 

  Alper Yıldız, son of 75-year-old prisoner Hatice Yıldız, said that his mother often fainted in prison and had difficulty breathing.
• Iran executes 853 people in eight-year high amid relentless repression 

  The number of executions in Iran in 2023 is the highest recorded since 2015 and marks a 48% increase from 2022 and a 172% increase from 2021.
• Emine Şenyaşar: I want the people of Van to join me 

  On 14 June 2018, the bodyguards and relatives of AKP Urfa MP Ibrahim Halil Yıldız attacked the Şenyaşar family's shop in Suruç during the election campaign.
• Seriously ill prisoner Çakal released from prison after 30 years 

  Seriously ill prisoner Ahmet Çakal, who was released after 30 years from Kırıklar jail said: "I want our people to live a free and honorable life."
• Grup Yorum members in Buca prison on a hunger strike for 38 days to protest violation of rights 

  Grup Yorum members Cem Dursun and Oktay Kelebek, who are in Buca prison, have been on a hunger strike for 38 days to protest the violations of their rights, especially the right to treatment.
• Mutlak Tozun, a prisoner of 30 years, dies 

  Mutlak Tozun, a prisoner of 30 years, who was hospitalised due to health problems and conditionally released on his deathbed, died.
• Saçaklıdır: Prisoners on hunger strike want their demands accepted 

  Political prisoners in Turkey are on hunger strike demanding a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Esra Saçaklıdır from the IHD in Amed spoke about the determination of the prisoners and the punishments they get from the prison administration.
• Iranian state forces take Kurdish artist Zade into custody in Ilam 

  Iranian state forces took Kurdish artist Muhammed Abbas Zade into custody in Ilam, East Kurdistan, on the grounds that he chanted the slogan "Jin jiyan azadi".