29 June – 5 July 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 4 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.
29 June: Turkish authorities detained 23 people in separate operations in Kocaeli and Edirne over alleged links to the Gülen movement, with nine remanded in pretrial detention and others accused of activities including humanitarian assistance to the families of individuals dismissed by KHK (State of Emergency Decrees) from their public duties.
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
1 July: Authorities imposed blanket bans on public assemblies, protests and related activities in five Turkish provinces—Elazığ, Bolu, Adana, Konya and Antalya—for periods of 9 to 14 days ahead of the NATO summit.
5 July: Turkish police detained at least 145 people during anti-NATO protests in Ankara and other cities ahead of the NATO summit.
Freedom of Expression and Media
30 June: Turkish prosecutors indicted journalist Pınar Gayıp on terrorism charges, citing her reporting on public events, press credentials and anonymous witness statements as evidence of alleged membership in the outlawed MLKP, five months after her arrest.
2 July: Journalist Gülnur Saydam was briefly detained in İstanbul after reporting on alleged organized crime in the Göktürk neighborhood, in a case brought under Turkey’s controversial disinformation law that drew widespread criticism from press freedom organizations.
2 July: Journalist Fatma Sibel Gürcihan was arrested pending trial after being detained over a social media post criticizing former finance minister Berat Albayrak and commenting on remarks from an interview with him.
3 July: Rights groups, opposition leaders and artists condemned the pretrial detention of comedian Deniz Göktaş over political satire in his stand-up show, arguing that charges of insulting the president and denigrating religious values are being used to suppress freedom of expression.
5 July: Journalists Buse Söğütlü and Ceren Erdoğdu were detained ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara as Turkish authorities intensified pre-summit security measures, including mass detentions and a blanket protest ban.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
30 June: Turkish courts arrested 25 people, including İsmail Yetişkin, in separate investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities in İzmir and İstanbul.
2 July: Turkish prosecutors declined to investigate police officials over alleged negligence before the 2015 Ankara train station bombing that killed 104 people, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired despite claims authorities had identified key ISIL suspects days before the attack.
Kurdish Minority
29 June: Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into two Kurdish journalists over their subscription to the legally published Demokratik Modernite magazine, treating payments of subscription fees to the magazine’s bank account as evidence in the probe.
Refugees and Migrants
29 June: Two Iranian men detained in Hakkari Province after crossing the border allegedly endured three days of torture in police custody, with one reporting rape by police officers, according to a complaint filed by human rights groups based on victim statements and medical records.
1 July: One refugee died, two remain missing and 15 others were rescued after a boat carrying 18 people attempting an irregular sea crossing sank off the coast of Marmaris in southwestern Turkey.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
2 July: A 21-year-old psychology student recovering from spinal surgery has reportedly been denied transfer to a hospital despite repeated loss of consciousness and a prison doctor’s referral while held in pretrial detention on alleged links to the Gülen movement.
