13-19 July 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 1070 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.
13 July: Turkish prosecutors ordered the detention of 968 people across all 81 provinces over alleged links to the Gülen movement, in a nationwide operation launched two days before the 10th anniversary of the failed 2016 coup.
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
16 July: Turkish police used force and detained at least 40 private-school and prospective public-school teachers, including union leaders, as they attempted to march to the Education Ministry in Ankara to demand fair wages, employment security and redress for interview-related grievances.
Freedom of Expression and Media
16 July: Turkish actor Levent Üzümcü was detained over a social media post shortly after criticizing the government as incompetent, although authorities did not initially disclose the alleged offense or identify the specific post under investigation.
17 July: A Turkish court ordered the pretrial detention of AKUT founder Nasuh Mahruki on charges of inciting hatred over a social media post alleging that authorities knowingly allowed the 2016 coup attempt to proceed.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
15 July: A Turkish court ordered the pretrial detention of Çankaya Mayor Hüseyin Can Güner and 23 others on corruption-related charges, after which the Interior Ministry suspended Güner from office.
17 July: Turkish authorities ordered the blocking of jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s YouTube channel and a campaign X account on national security and public order grounds, without identifying the content that prompted the decision.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
14 July: A new documentary features six former Turkish Air Force Academy cadets who say they were unknowingly deployed during the July 2016 coup attempt, tortured in custody, sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and forced to rebuild their lives abroad.
Transnational Repression
14 July: Turkey added three overseas organizations and three individuals linked by authorities to the Gülen movement to its asset-freeze list, a designation formally limited to Turkey but capable of triggering banking and payment restrictions abroad.
