HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• 11 days in solitary confinement for Kurdish poems in Bafra prison 

  The Prison Administration's Disciplinary Board justified the decision on the grounds that the poems contained the political and ideological content of the PKK.
• Kurdish protester with eye injury sentenced to 31 months in prison in Iran 

  Hassani was injured by gunfire from military security forces during anti-government protests in Bukan on 16 November 2019, suffering damage to his left eye.
• IHD: Ending Öcalan’s isolation is essential for peace 

  In September, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will again discuss the implementation of the ECHR's Imrali decisions. Human rights activist Küçükbalaban sees an end to the violation of the law on Imrali as an essential factor for peace.
• Şenyaşar family takes their fight for justice in front of Parliament 

  Emine Şenyaşar and her son, DEM Party MP Ferit Şenyaşar, whose family members were murdered in Suruç in 2018, brought their search for justice in front of the Parliament.
• HRW: Iran’s use of the death penalty as a tool of intimidation reveals a chilling abuse of power 

  87 executions were reported after the June elections in Iran, including 29 in one day, said the HRW, warning of the alarming surge in executions.
• Lawyers demand an ‘urgent ad hoc visit’ by the CPT to İmralı 

  Applying to the CPT once again, Asrin Law Office drew attention to the fact that the procedure that was not applied to İmralı was applied to Azerbaijan and demanded an ad hoc visit to İmralı immediately.
• 98% disabled prisoner released after spending 6 years in jail 

  Serdal Yıldırım is 98% disabled. He has been held captive in Metris R Type Prison for 6 years, and was finally released after many delays.
• Iranian regime executes 4 prisoners in 2 days 

  The Iranian regime executed 4 prisoners in 2 days, the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization reported.
• "No to the death penalty" campaign to last one more week 

  The YRJ announced that the "No to the death penalty" campaign launched to protest the death sentences given to women activists in prisons by the Iranian regime has been extended for another 7 days.
• Release of sick prisoner postponed for the 5th time 

  28-year-old Kurdish prisoner Naif Işçi, who has been behind bars for 14 years, is denied release on the grounds that he did not express remorse.
• ÖHD exposes torture in Kocaeli No. 2 F Type Closed Prison 

  Lawyers from ÖHD drew attention to the torture of prisoners in Kocaeli No. 2 F Type Closed Prison.
• Strip-searching and cage torture in Tekirdağ No. 2 F Type Prison 

  Serdar Bozkurt spoke on the phone with his brother Abdülkadir Bozkurt, who is in Tekirdağ No. 2 F Type Prison, and said: "My brother cried and said that he was strip-searched, put in a cell and had faeces thrown at him."
• Detained sister of slain protester on hunger strike in Iran 

  Solmaz Hassanzadeh, who was detained by security forces on 30 July, went on a hunger strike on 6 August in protest at her continued solitary confinement.
• Mother denounces harsh isolation conditions of her son in prison 

  Medine Esmer, the mother of Imran Esmer, who is being held in solitary confinement at Suluca No. 1 High Security Prison, applied to the Human Rights Association concerned about her son’s condition.
• HRW calls on Iraq to exhume mass grave sites to ensure justice 

  “Exhuming all of Iraq’s mass graves will require a serious and sustained commitment from Iraqi authorities, and it’s one that must absolutely be made,” Sarah Sanbar said. “Healing the wounds of the past won’t be possible without it.”
• Keskin: Ill and elderly Kurdish women kept in prison with temperatures of 40 degrees 

  The co-chair of the IHD, Eren Keskin, spoke about the situation in the women's prison in Batman, saying that "although the women are all elderly and have health problems, they are held in cells at 40 degrees without enough water."
• 75-year-old bedridden man suffers heart attack while being taken into custody 

  75-year-old bedridden Süleyman Sabri Mavi, who is living in Yüksekova, suffered a heart attack while being detained after the Court of Cassation approved his 8-year, 9-month prison sentence.
• DEM Party issues urgent call to stand by Yazidi community  

  The DEM Party Central Executive Board said that the Yazidis "are facing a grave threat of massacre organized by the KDP" and called on the international community to take urgent action.
• Prisoner sees his release posponed for 3 months after spending 30 years in jail 

  The release of Mehmet Kınat, who has been in jail for 30 years, was postponed for 3 months claiming that he was not “behaving well.”
• Prisoner sees his release posponed six times 

  Sinan Sütpak, who has been held captive in Turkish state prisons for 31 years, should have been freed, but his release has been prevented six times on arbitrary grounds.
• Guards in Evin jail attack female prisoners 

  The family of Nobel Peace Prize winner Nargis Mohammadi, who is in jail in Iran, said that guards in Evin Prison attacked and beat female prisoners.
• UN expresses concern over alarmingly high number of executions in Iran 

  At least 345 people have been executed in Iran this year, among them 15 women.
• HRW and İFÖD: Turkey’s arbitrary decision to block access to Instagram is a violation of rights 

  “Blocking access to Instagram clearly violates freedom of expression and access to information but also breaches the constitutional obligation to guarantee an effective remedy through a court of law,” said HRW and İFÖD.
• Young people in prison for dancing halay forced to listen to racist songs 

  After his visit to Batman M Type Closed Prison, IHD Amed Branch President Ercan Yılmaz said that young people arrested for dancing the halay were forced to listen to racist songs and that the mothers in captivity were experiencing health problems.
• Four Kurds executed, one environmental activist sentenced to prison in Iran 

  On Wednesday, when at least 29 people were hanged in Iran, 4 Kurds were also executed and a Kurdish environmental activist was sentenced to prison.