Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 58 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.
14 October: Turkish authorities detained 32 people across several provinces over alleged links to the Gülen movement in three investigations targeting 34 suspects. Prosecutors cited financial transactions, digital records and alleged movement activities.
16 October: A court in Alanya jailed a 66-year-old homeless man pending trial for insulting President Erdoğan after he told the judge he had deliberately committed the offense because he lacked food and shelter.
12 October: Turkish authorities returned businessman Taner Nakıboğlu to prison over alleged Gülen movement links, two weeks after a court acquitted him and ordered his release, following prosecutors’ challenge to his acquittal.
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
12 October: An İstanbul court acquitted 88 people prosecuted for participating in demonstrations against Ekrem İmamoğlu’s detention, while two other defendants received suspended prison sentences over social-media posts connected to the protests.
14 October: Human Rights Watch documented criminal investigations involving at least 55 opponents of mining near Akbelen Forest and detentions and alleged mistreatment during protests against gold exploration in Ordu.
17 October: Police used pepper spray against students opposing the removal of approximately 200 dogs from Ege University’s campus by municipal teams. Students and academics sought information about where the animals were taken.
Freedom of Expression and Media
13 October: The ruling AKP sued journalists Timur Soykan and Şaban Sevinç, BirGün TV and opposition spokesman Zeynel Emre, seeking a total of 1.6 million lira in damages over their reporting and criticism concerning an investment-fund scandal.
14 October: Turkish authorities ordered access blocked to the Workers’ Party of Turkey’s official X account, which had approximately 582,000 followers, without publicly identifying the issuing authority or specific grounds for the restriction.
14 October: Police raided Halk TV’s İstanbul headquarters as government-appointed trustees took over the opposition broadcaster during an investigation involving its owner. Live broadcasts stopped, and employees were prevented from entering.
16 October: Turkey’s broadcasting regulator fined Sözcü TV and Koza TV 3 percent of their previous month’s advertising revenue over broadcasts discussing allegations of government connections to an investment-fund scandal.
16 October: An İstanbul court released investigative journalist Bahadır Özgür under judicial supervision, imposing a travel ban and twice-weekly police reporting after he spent the night in custody over his reporting on an alleged investment-fund scandal.
16 October: Police detained journalist and human-rights advocate Bahadır Altan over a social-media post criticizing the takeover of Halk TV and calling for public opposition. A court released him under judicial supervision and imposed travel and reporting restrictions.
Human Rights Defenders
13 October: Lawyers for detained journalist Tuğba Tekerek petitioned the Constitutional Court for her release, saying prosecutors had not disclosed technical evidence supporting allegations that she administered an LGBTQ+ rights organization’s Instagram account.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
12 October: The president of Ankara’s No. 2 Bar Association claimed that Justice Ministry assistance helped approximately 70 members become judges or prosecutors. Judicial organizations demanded scrutiny, while the bar president later said his comments had been misrepresented.
13 October: An opposition lawmaker reported that the administrations of 156 municipalities had changed through party defections, trustee appointments or judicial proceedings since the March 2024 local elections, including districts whose voters had elected opposition administrations.
14 October: An İstanbul court rejected Osman Kavala’s applications for release and a retrial despite a binding European Court of Human Rights judgment requiring his release and measures to address the consequences of his conviction.
15 October: The European Court of Human Rights found that Turkish courts had failed to provide individualized justifications for keeping 26 people in pretrial detention, in some cases for up to 11 months, over alleged Gülen movement links.
17 October: An Ankara court jailed two deputy mayors and five other suspects pending trial in a corruption investigation targeting opposition-run Etimesgut municipality after its elected mayor was imprisoned and suspended.
Prison Conditions
12 October: Prisoner Yusuf Çelik described eleven inmates sharing a 50-square-meter ward at Marmara Prison, with some sleeping in corridors, and reported continuous camera surveillance, delayed medical care, difficulties accessing clean water and restrictions on books.
14 October: The European Court of Human Rights found that Turkish prison authorities recorded former judge Abdi Cengiz’s conversations with relatives during family visits for one year without assessing whether such surveillance was necessary in his individual case.
Refugees and Migrants
14 October: A court in Kilis sentenced two men to aggravated life imprisonment in a retrial over the 2023 sexual assault and killing of nine-year-old Syrian girl Gina Mercimek, following an earlier appellate reversal.
13 October: Turkey’s Family and Social Services Ministry confirmed that 13 unaccompanied foreign children remained missing after 14 children left a reception facility in Edirne with permission to visit a market on 11 October. One had subsequently returned.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
12 October: The Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee raised concerns about safeguards and conditions for involuntarily admitted psychiatric patients and unaccompanied migrant children in Turkish institutions.
13 October: Authorities returned 56-year-old Celal Yıldırım to Hilvan Prison after he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. His family said prosecutors had not responded to their request for him to complete medical treatment outside prison.
12 October: A prison review board denied the release of 77-year-old Hatice Yıldız, imprisoned over money transfers to her jailed daughter and another prisoner, despite her reported dementia, mobility difficulties and favorable conduct assessments, according to her lawyer.
13 October: Turkey’s Constitutional Court ordered a renewed investigation into lawyer İlayda Kocabaş Güner’s allegations that police assaulted and threatened her during a 2021 protest, after prosecutors closed her complaint without questioning the officers involved.
Transnational Repression
12 October: Turkish officials pressed Greece to extradite people accused of Gülen movement links, including people seeking international protection. Greek officials disputed Ankara’s characterization of Turkish asylum seekers as a criminal network.
Women’s Rights
15 October: An İstanbul court acquitted a man accused of sexually abusing his eight-year-old daughter Hifa İkra Şengüler, who was later found dead with her mother, citing insufficient evidence and rejecting requests by women’s organizations to join the proceedings.
13 October: Opposition lawmaker Kezban Konukçu raised allegations that Şişli Municipality’s trustee administration dismissed eight workers, seven of them women, and reassigned female staff to street-cleaning duties without adequate facilities while disregarding workplace complaints.
Gender Rights
14 October: HEVİ LGBTİ+ Association reported that police operations targeting LGBTQ+ organizations disrupted its legal, social and health counseling for Kurdish, refugee and minority LGBTQ+ people. Three people affiliated with the association had been jailed and three others remained under investigation.
14 October: UN human-rights experts criticized Turkish investigations and restrictions targeting LGBTQ+ organizations, saying legitimate advocacy and support services were being subjected to criminal accusations and official pressure.
