30 Aralık 2024 - 5 Ocak 2025
KEYFİ GÖZALTI VE TUTUKLAMALAR
Hafta boyunca savcılar en az 5 kişi hakkında Gülen hareketiyle irtibatlı oldukları gerekçesiyle gözaltı kararı verdi. Birleşmiş Milletler Keyfi Tutuklama Çalışma Grubu (WGAD) tarafından Ekim 2020’de yayımlanan bir görüş belgesinde söz konusu grupla bağlantılı olduğu iddia edilen kişilerin geniş çaplı ve sistematik olarak hürriyetinden mahrum bırakılmasının insanlığa karşı suç teşkil edebileceği belirtildi. Derneğimiz 15 Temmuz darbe girişiminden bu yana gerçekleşen Gülen hareketi bağlantılı toplu gözaltı uygulamalarını detaylı bir veritabanı vasıtasıyla sistematik olarak kayda geçirmektedir.
5 Ocak: Gülen Hareketi ile bağlantılı bir kız öğrenci yurdunda kaldığı ve ByLock kullandığı iddiasıyla Antalya 2. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi tarafından 6 yıl 10 ay hapis cezasına çarptırılan din bilgisi öğretmeni Büşra Tuna Çankaya, 9 aylık oğlu Bera ve KHK ile ihraç edilen eski polis memuru eşi Yasin Çankaya ile birlikte Edirne’de tutuklandı.
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
3 January: Turkish police detained three protesters at a rally in Istanbul for displaying banners condemning trade with Israel, accusing them of incitement, as tensions over the Gaza conflict continue to escalate.
Freedom of Expression and Media
31 December: Turkish prosecutors have issued a detention warrant for journalist and author Ahmet Nesin, who has been living in exile since 2016, on accusations of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a recent YouTube program.
2 January: Turkish journalist Elif Bayburt faces trial for allegedly insulting the state during an interview about human rights activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s death in the West Bank, where her guest accused Turkey and the US of complicity in alleged Israeli genocide against Palestinians.
2 January: Turkish authorities sentenced 58 journalists to a total of 135 years in prison, detained 112, and arrested 26 in 2024, with a report by opposition lawmaker Zeynep Oduncu Kutevi accusing the government of stifling independent journalism and suppressing dissent.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
31 December: A total of 26 summary proceedings seeking the lifting of parliamentary immunity were submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), all targeting opposition members and none from the ruling AKP.
Kurdish Minority
31 December: In Turkey’s Kocaeli province, 10 people, including the Gebze District Co-Chairs of the People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Melike Aydın and Ömer Yıldız, were detained during house raids for their social media posts about journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who lost their lives in Northern and Eastern Syria.
5 January: Pro-Kurdish news and media accounts blocked in Turkey under the pretext of protecting national security and public order, and made inaccessible by X, include:
- Mezopotamya Agency’s account (@MAturkce) with 264,000 followers,
- JINNEWS Agency’s account (@jinnewsturkce) with 168,000 followers,
- Yeni Yaşam Newspaper’s account (@yeniyasamgazete) with 125,000 followers,
- Siyasi Haber’s account (@SiyasiHaberOrg) with 44,000 followers.
Other Minorities
2 January: A gunman fired multiple shots at the Kurtuluş Churches Association in Istanbul’s Çekmeköy district on New Year’s Eve, shouting anti-Christian remarks; no injuries were reported.
Prison Conditions
3 January: In Ankara’s Sincan Women’s Prison, prisoners’ social and cultural rights have been restricted under the pretext of austerity measures.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
31 December: It has been reported that three female prisoners held in Ağrı Patnos Prison were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by prison guards, and that evidence of the abuse was not documented in the prison infirmary where they were taken.
Transnational Repression
31 December: Kyrgyzstan has transferred the management of Gülen-linked Sapat schools to Turkey’s Maarif Foundation, following Ankara’s longstanding pressure to close or take control of institutions associated with the Gülen movement.
Women’s Rights
3 January: In 2024, at least 394 women were killed by men in Turkey, and 259 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances, according to a report by the “We Will Stop Femicide Platform.”
