HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• KNK strongly condemns Iran’s brutality against the Kurdish people and political prisoners 

  KNK said that Kurdish lives are being sacrificed to serve political interests, with this most recent round of political murders occurring just after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
• Iran executes 4 Kurdish prisoners  

  Iran executed 4 Kurdish prisoners on allegations of "cooperating with Israel" and "espionage".
• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged to ensure accountability during Iran visit 

  Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran expressed deep concerns about the upcoming visit of Ms Al Nashif, the deputy of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to Iran.
• Ill prisoner on Human Rights Association's list released after 30 years 

  Mutlak Tozun, who was held in Manisa Akhisar T Type Closed Prison and diagnosed with cancer, was released after the application made by his lawyers. He spent 30 years in prison.
• HRW: Burkina Faso military killed at least 60 civilians in attacks with Turkish-made drones 

  At least 60 civilians were killed and scores more injured at two crowded markets and a packed funeral in Burkina Faso and Mali between August and November 2023, HRW reported.
• Prisoners: Our letters to CPT and İmralı are confiscated 

  Prisoners in Erzurum Dumlu Prison announced that their letters to CPT and İmralı were seized, while the prisoners on hunger strike are not given liquid food.
• Law organisations protest against Iran's crackdown on their colleagues 

  Law organisations made a statement on the Day of the Endangered Lawyer and condemned Iran's crackdown on their colleagues.
• Iran executes 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' activist 

  The Iranian regime executed Mohammad Qubadlu for participating in the 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' protests.
• 1,330 lawyers from 35 bar associations apply to the Ministry of Justice to meet with Öcalan 

  Denouncing the isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, 1,330 lawyers from 35 bar associations in Turkey applied to the Ministry of Justice to meet with Öcalan.
• ISIG: At least 1,932 workers killed in their workplace in 2023 

  Since the AKP came to power in 2002, at least a total of at least 32,478 workers have lost their lives in work-related incidents.
• Urgent appeal to stop executions in Iran 

  The week of campaign against executions in Iran ended with an urgent appeal signed by over 30 human rights organizations.
• IHD publishes report about rights violations in prisons in Central Anatolia region 

  The IHD Ankara Branch published its report about the rights violations in prisons in the Central Anatolia region for October, November and December 2023.
• Mothers at Justice Vigils call for struggle to be spread  

  The Justice Vigils carried out by relatives of political prisoners in Turkey to demand freedom for Abdullah Öcalan continue. Activists are calling for the actions to be spread.
• MEPs call on EU to protest Turkish aggression and crimes in North-East Syria 

  Members of the Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament have written a letter to Joseph Borrell regarding the invading Turkish state's attacks on North and East Syria, criticising the inaction and silence in the face of attacks and crimes.
• ECCHR and STJ urge German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate crimes in Afrin 

  The human rights organizations the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) have filed a criminal complaint with the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to address the crimes in Afrin.
• Another ill prisoner dies in jail 

  Abdullah Varışlı, a prisoner suffering from cancer and held in Erzurum Oltu Prison, passed away. He was buried in his hometown, Cizîra Botan.
• Gülser Özbay released after spending 31 years and 6 months in prison 

  Gülser Özbay was released after being held in prison by the Turkish state for 31 years and 6 months. She was welcomed with enthusiasm in her hometown Doğubayazıt.
• IHD: The state uses systematic pressure to recruit politically active Kurds as informants 

  The Turkish state is using systematic pressure to recruit politically active Kurds as informants, said IHD chair Ercan Yılmaz in Amed.
• Kurdish young man dies of torture in Iran 

  A Kurdish young man from Lorestan named Imam Hasan Wend, who was subjected to severe torture in Iranian prisons for about four months, has died.
• DEM MP Konukçu: They murdered Metin under torture 

  DEM Party MP Kezban Konukçu was arrested in 1996 on the same occasion as murdered journalist Metin Göktepe. She said: “They took me to the police headquarters. They murdered Metin in the gym.”
• Prisoners expose new violations of rights in Rize jail 

  Political prisoner Taner Ergün, said that an infection is spreading in Rize jail, particularly among the seriously ill prisoners, but they are not being given any medication.
• HRW: Courts politicized, media muzzled, political opponents punished in Turkey’s centennial year 

  “Turkey’s human rights record in its centennial year included a muzzled media and political opponents routinely targeted and punished,” says Human Rights Watch.
• Legal and human rights organisations apply to the CPT for action against isolation in Imrali Prison 

  Human rights and legal organisations applied to the CPT regarding the prevention of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş from meeting with their lawyers under absolute isolation in İmralı.
• 35-year-old killed in Iranian custody in East Kurdistan 

  A 35-year-old man was killed in Iranian custody in East Kurdistan. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Payam Abdi was tortured to death in a Secret Service interrogation center in Kirmaşan province.
• Mother who received son's remains by post in prison for eight months 

  The mother of martyr Agit Ipek, Halise Aksoy, has been in prison for eight months. Her second hearing will take place on tomorrow, 12 January. Her lawyer called on the public to closely monitor the hearing.