25-31 May 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 3 people over alleged links to the Gülen movement. In October 2020, a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) opinion said that widespread or systematic imprisonment of individuals with alleged links to the group may amount to crimes against humanity. Solidarity with OTHERS has compiled a detailed database to monitor the Gülen-linked mass detentions since a failed coup in July 2016.
28 May: The ECtHR ruled that Turkey violated former US Consulate employee Metin Topuz’s right to liberty by keeping him in pretrial detention for more than two years without sufficient justification in a case involving alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Enforced Disappearances
No news has emerged of Yusuf Bilge Tunç, a former public sector worker who was sacked from his job by a decree-law during the 2016-2018 state of emergency and who was reported missing as of August 6, 2019, in what appears to be one of the latest cases in a string of suspected enforced disappearance of government critics since 2016.
Freedom of Assembly and Association
31 May: At least 13 people were detained as police blocked a commemoration in Ankara for Gezi victim Ethem Sarısülük at the place and time he was shot.
28 May: A teacher was arrested and suspended from his civil service job after climbing onto a police water cannon vehicle during a banned CHP protest in İzmir, amid intensified restrictions on opposition demonstrations in Turkey.
31 May: Police blocked Doruk Madencilik workers from travelling to Ankara to demand unpaid rights after a payment promise guaranteed by three ministries was allegedly not fulfilled.
Freedom of Expression and Media
26 May: Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty called on Turkey to protect free expression and press freedom, restore judicial independence and repeal laws used to prosecute journalists, restrict protests and silence dissent.
28 May: A İstanbul Bilgi University student was briefly detained after speaking to the media during protests against the university’s temporary closure by presidential decree.
29 May: MLSA’s 2025 annual report found that press freedom in Turkey sharply deteriorated as 53 journalists were detained, 29 were arrested and pretrial detention, terrorism charges and internet censorship were increasingly used against media workers.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
28 May: Turkey’s Interior Ministry removed CHP Güzelbahçe Mayor Mustafa Günay from office after his arrest in a corruption and zoning investigation, amid growing judicial pressure on opposition-run municipalities.
Other Minorities
29 May: The ECtHR ruled that Turkey violated the rights of two Greek Orthodox priests by unlawfully removing them from the boards of religious minority foundations in İstanbul solely because they were members of the clergy.
Prison Conditions
27 May: Women prisoners in İstanbul Bakırköy Prison faced delayed access to medical care, late hospital referrals and forced handcuffed examinations, with those refusing such treatment being returned to prison without examination or treatment.
