HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Prisoner Arslan held in solitary cell in Buca Kırıklar No. 2 F Type jail 

  Abdurrahman Aziz Arslan, who is being held in Buca Kırıklar No. 2 F Type Prison, is arbitrarily held in a solitary cell. The petitions he submitted to move to the 3-person ward were not processed.
• Memorial for Şenyaşar family members 4 years after their murder 

  Hacı Esvet and his son, Adil and Celal Şenyaşar, who were murdered in 2018 in Urfa, were commemorated in front of their shop for the first time in 4 years. Suruç shopkeepers kept the shutters closed.
• UK government prepares to fly the first planeload of refugees to Rwanda on Tuesday 

  The UK government intends to fly the first planeload of refugees to Rwanda on Tuesday 14 June.
• Şenyaşar family reaches day 461 of their Justice Vigil  

  The Şenyaşar family continues their struggle for justice and draws attention to the independence of the judiciary, saying that "fighting against unlawfulness is the duty of every citizen with a conscience."
• Prisoners in Düzce denounce violations of rights 

  Vedat Gültekin, who is being held in Düzce T Type Prison, said in a phone call with his family that prisoners in his ward were attacked during a so-called search.
• Police attack Pride march at ODTÜ with tear gas and rubber bullets 

  Turkish authorities prevented a Pride parade from taking place at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. The students were attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets, and numerous people were detained.
• 775 lawyers against isolation take action to meet with Öcalan 

  775 lawyers from 29 bar associations have taken action to meet with Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan between June 10-17.
• More prisoners join indefinite hunger strike in Afyon 

  In Afyon, western Anatolia, ten political prisoners are on hunger strike demanding adequate health care and the abolition of military roll call and arbitrary "solitary confinement punishment."
• Trans woman abused and harassed at police station in Istanbul 

  A trans woman was mistreated and harassed at Istanbul's Taksim police station. Her lawyer filed a criminal complaint against the officers.
• Turkish soldiers beat prisoner in hospital  

  Turkish soldiers used violence in the hospital where Mehmet Ali Aykal, who was imprisoned in Diyarbakir No. 2 High Security Prison, went for treatment.
• 1,374 rights advocates faced judicial harassment in Turkey in four months 

  According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 23 human rights defenders were sentenced to 1 aggravated life sentence and 211 years 4 months, and 10 days in prison in the first four months of 2022.
• Jail administration doesn't give personal belongings to prisoners on hunger strike in Afyon 

  In Afyon No. 1 T Type Prison, the personal belongings and samovar of the detainees, are not given to them on the grounds that they went on a hunger strike against rights violations.
• Kurdish activist facing extradition to Turkey on indefinite hunger strike in Serbia 

  The Serbian government seems determined to extradite Kurdish revolutionary Ecevit Piroğlu to the Turkish state. Piroğlu has started an indefinite hunger strike against extradition.
• Family of Saniye Toprak buries her remains after a wait of 284 days  

  The family of Saniye Toprak, who fell as a martyr in August 2021, was able to take the remains of their daughter 284 days after the first request. Toprak was finally buried in the village where she was born.
• Police attack rally for prisoners in Istanbul 

  Police attacked a vigil by relatives of political prisoners in Istanbul and detained six people. The relatives, mostly mothers, are fighting for the lives of their imprisoned children.
• Kurdish migrants on hunger strike in Poland 

  Ten migrants from Kurdistan have been on hunger strike in Poland for three weeks in protest at their internment under prison conditions.
• Human Rights Foundation received the highest number of applications in 2021 

  According to HRFT Treatment Centers 2021 report, the Foundation has received the highest number of applications last year since its establishment in 1990. A five-year-old child also complained about torture in 2021.
• Justice Vigil carried out by the Şenyaşar family reaches day 447 

  The Justice Vigil carried out by the Şenyaşar family has reached day 447.
• Three prisoners on hunger strike in Afyon No. 1 T Type Prison tortured, say families 

  It was stated that 3 prisoners who went on hunger strike in Afyon No. 1 T Type Prison were tortured and taken out of their wards. No news has been heard since.
• Semra Özkan: "My father is living his last days" 

  Mehmet Emin Özkan has been held innocently in prison in Turkey since 1996 and is seriously ill. The daughter of the 85-year-old Kurd from Amed says her father is living his last days.
• Political prisoners not released despite having served their sentences 

  Ten women imprisoned for political reasons in the northeastern Anatolian city of Bayburt are not released despite serving their sentences because they refuse to attend military roll call.
• Activists from Bielefeld take over Freedom for Öcalan Vigil in Strasbourg on week 519 

  A group of activists from Bielefeld took over the Freedom for Öcalan Vigil in Strasbourg on its 519th week.
• Mother of ill prisoner Bülent Mengeş says her son is not receiving treatment 

  Hacer Tayfur, mother of ill prisoner Bülent Mengeş, said that her son's treatment was blocked and that she doesn’t want her son to die in prison.
• Relocation of guerrilla bodies taken to the ECtHR 

  The case concerning the mortal remains that were removed from Garzan Cemetery and reburied under a pavement in Kilyos Cemetery has been taken to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
• Turkish soldiers and FSA torture prisoners from Afrin 

  Afrin residents jailed in Turkey’s Yayladağı Prison stated that they were tortured by Turkish soldiers and members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).