31 August – 6 September 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 24 people over alleged links to the Gülen movement. Since 2017, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has issued 26 opinions concerning arbitrary detentions based on alleged membership in the Gülen movement, in which it has expressed grave concern that the widespread or systematic imprisonment of individuals linked 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.
1 September: Turkish police detained 10 people over alleged Gülen movement links based on unspecified Signal-related activity, raising concerns about privacy and the criminalization of ordinary encrypted communication.
2 September: Professor Johan Vande Lanotte’s report documented 4,386 detentions in 342 operations in 2025 and found that Turkey’s Gülen-linked crackdown increasingly targets social contacts, financial assistance, employment and other lawful activities.
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
3 September: Three ETHA journalists face terrorism charges after seven months in pretrial detention, with prosecutors citing their reporting activities as evidence, raising serious concerns about press freedom in Turkey.
3 September: Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation into former prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu under Article 299 over resurfaced 2021 remarks alleging illicit enrichment and government favoritism, although he did not name Erdoğan.
4 September: Turkish police detained journalist Oya Lale Arslan and seized her digital materials in an investigation into unspecified social media posts and YouTube broadcasts on allegations of disseminating misleading information and terrorist propaganda.
4 September: Turkish prosecutors indicted jailed comedian Deniz Göktaş on three charges over remarks in his viral stand-up show, seeking a prison sentence reportedly ranging up to 11 years.
Human Rights Defenders
2 September: Turkish advocates Taner Kılıç and Pırıl Erçoban, alongside Giorgos Tsarbopoulos, received Pro Asyl’s 2026 Human Rights Award for defending refugees, documenting abuses and promoting the rule of law.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
2 September: Turkish Bar Association President Erinç Sağkan said compliance with Constitutional Court and ECtHR judgments is legally mandatory, while criticizing punitive pretrial detention, restrictions on expression and perceived political influence over the judiciary.
3 September: Turkish police detained 12 İstanbul municipal officials in a bid-rigging investigation linked to the broader corruption case against jailed opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
4 September: Retired judge Önder Tekin applied to the ECtHR, alleging that TurkStat’s understated inflation figures reduced public-sector wages and pensions after Turkish courts rejected his case without ordering an expert assessment.
Kurdish Minority
3 September: Construction worker Süleyman Konat and his nephew were reportedly subjected to a racist attack by about 15 people in Bayburt for wearing Amedspor jerseys, leaving Konat with five nasal fractures.
Prison Conditions
1 September: Lawmakers Ceylan Akça Cupolo and Sezgin Tanrıkulu sought an investigation into allegations that some of Diyarbakır Open Prison’s roughly 800 inmates sleep on floors, shower only monthly and face inadequate healthcare, hygiene and fire protection.
