6-12 July 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 11 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.
9 July: A Turkish court jailed ÇHD lawyers Ezgi Önalan and Yunusemre Işık pending trial after prosecutors cited routine legal work as evidence in an investigation launched days before the NATO summit in Ankara.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
6 July: Sevda Güven alleges that her husband, former police intelligence chief Zeki Güven, was murdered in pretrial detention in 2018 and that she faced threats, procedural obstruction and politically motivated prosecution after seeking accountability for his death.
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
7 July: Turkish authorities detained 85 individuals over alleged links to the Gülen movement recently, citing ByLock messaging app, despite this being declared inadequate and invalid by the ECtHR in the Yalçınkaya judgment.
Freedom of Expression and Media
6 July: A Turkish court blocked access to the Stockholm Center for Freedom’s X account and 145 other accounts belonging to critical journalists and human rights groups without identifying specific posts or providing individualized justification.
7 July: Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT was accused of censoring references to jailed comedian Deniz Göktaş and the crackdown on government critics while translating a journalist’s question to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a summit press conference in Ankara.
9 July: A Turkish court ordered access blocked to jailed comedian Deniz Göktaş’s widely viewed “Ölü Deniz” stand-up show on national security and public order grounds.
Human Rights Defenders
7 July: A Turkish court sentenced environmental activist Esra Işık to more than two years in prison for participating in a peaceful protest against coal-mining expansion near Akbelen Forest.
10 July: Turkish authorities blocked the X account of human rights defender Hüseyin Küçükbalaban after he called for the release of protesters detained during demonstrations against the NATO summit in Ankara.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
6 July: Jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu appeared in three separate court proceedings involving his diploma, alleged political espionage and municipal corruption on the same day NATO leaders arrived in Ankara for a summit.
10 July: Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty raised grave concerns over Ekrem İmamoğlu’s prosecution, citing severe defense restrictions, prolonged pretrial detention, threats to judicial independence.
11 July: Turkish police detained 27 people in a corruption investigation targeting the CHP-run Çankaya municipality, amid mounting judicial pressure on opposition mayors.
Other Minorities
10 July: A suspect was detained and referred for arrest after allegedly damaging six graves and a fountain in an apparent hate-motivated attack on the Surp Garabet Armenian Cemetery in İstanbul.
Prison Conditions
9 July: Inmate Gürkan Türkoğlu died after a 266-day hunger strike demanding transfer from a high-security “pit-type” prison, with rights groups blaming authorities for delaying action until his health had critically deteriorated.
Refugees and Migrants
8 July: Turkish authorities deported Russian anti-war activist Ariadna Litvinova to Russia, where she was immediately arrested and jailed over politically motivated charges related to a peaceful protest against the invasion of Ukraine.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
8 July: A new documentary alleges that gendarmerie personnel summoned to the Beştepe headquarters during the July 15, 2016 coup attempt were deliberately entrapped, exposed to gunfire, tortured after surrender and later convicted in trials marked by missing evidence, procedural violations and political pressure.
Women’s Rights
10 July: Thirty-one women were killed by men and 31 others died under suspicious circumstances in Turkey in June, with most identified victims killed by current or former family members or partners.
Gender Rights
9 July: Transgender teacher Zoe Lila says a private school in Istanbul dismissed her after pro-government media exposed details of her gender transition, leading to threats, privacy violations and alleged discrimination in employment.
