3-9 August 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 14 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.
6 August: Former teacher Emine Sarıoğlu, imprisoned with her 2-year-old daughter over alleged Gülen movement links, was released after a retrial was ordered following a Constitutional Court ruling that her right to a reasoned judgment had been violated.
6 August: A Kurdish asylum seeker mother deported from Switzerland despite warnings that she faced imprisonment was detained upon arrival in Turkey and jailed pending trial with her 15-month-old baby.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
3 August: Özcan Aksu died in an İstanbul hospital 12 days after being jailed pending trial, prompting his family and lawyers to seek an independent investigation into extensive injuries he allegedly sustained in state custody and possible delays in medical treatment.
23 August: Abdülalim Kaya, an 83-year-old Kurdish man who was kept in prison despite a medical report finding him 93 percent disabled and at risk of death, died 17 months after his release on probation.
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 Expression and Media
4 August: X blocked access in Turkey to another account run by jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s presidential campaign office following a court order citing national security and public order.
4 August: Turkish prosecutors are seeking up to four-and-a-half years in prison for jailed government critic Nasuh Mahruki over a social media post alleging that authorities knowingly allowed the 2016 coup attempt to proceed and later used it to change Turkey’s system of government.
4 August: A Turkish court placed journalist Can Bursalı under judicial supervision and imposed a travel ban after prosecutors questioned him over reports and social media posts concerning the İmamoğlu trial and the Amasra mine disaster.
6 August: Turkish authorities blocked access to at least 659 online accounts, posts, apps and websites related to İstanbul Pride events and protests against the July NATO summit in Ankara.
6 August: Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation into Sendika.Org reporter Nisan Çıra for allegedly inciting hatred and enmity over photographs she shared while reporting on protests against the NATO summit in Ankara.
Human Rights Defenders
4 August: Turkey’s internet regulator ordered the Human Rights Association (İHD) to remove two reports documenting alleged abuses against women, amid a broader series of recent restrictions on the organization’s online publications.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
5 August: Turkish prosecutors asked parliament to lift the immunity of New Party leader Özgür Özel and lawmaker Veli Ağbaba over allegations that they repeatedly accepted bribes while serving as senior CHP figures.
8 August: New Party Manisa provincial chair İlksen Özalper was jailed pending trial on bribery and organized crime charges, becoming the first provincial leader of the newly founded opposition party to be imprisoned.
8 August: A Turkish parliamentary committee approved a 12-article bill for the PKK peace process that would suspend certain criminal proceedings and sentences and establish oversight bodies, amid opposition and legal criticism over its preparation, constitutionality, unequal treatment and potential effect as a conditional general amnesty.
5 August: Five Turkish law professors called on courts to fully apply ECtHR rulings in Gülen movement cases, arguing that lawful activities and unverified digital evidence such as ByLock cannot alone establish membership in a terrorist organization.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
4 August: Three prisoners at Kocaeli No. 2 F-Type Prison alleged that guards beat them while they were handcuffed behind their backs after one shouted an anti-torture slogan.
7 August: The UN Committee Against Torture asked Turkey to respond within six months to Aysun Işınkaralar’s complaint alleging electric shocks, strangulation, sexual harassment and a mock execution in police custody after her detention over alleged Gülen movement links.
Women’s Rights
7 August: Twenty-five women were killed by men in Turkey in July 2026, while 31 others died under suspicious circumstances, according to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform.
