28 July - 3 August 2025
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 97 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.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
28 July: Two Turkish conscripts died from multiple organ failure due to dehydration during intense military training in Hatay, sparking public outrage, political condemnation, and an official investigation into alleged negligence by the armed forces.
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
31 July: President Erdoğan postponed a miners’ strike at state-run Eti Maden for 60 days citing national security, sparking outrage from unions and rights groups who denounced the move as an unconstitutional violation of the right to strike.
Freedom of Expression and Media
1 August: Turkey’s media watchdog RTÜK imposed a five-day broadcast ban and a maximum fine on pro-opposition Sözcü TV over a guest’s remark that “Turkey is not a Muslim country,” drawing criticism for suppressing dissent and curbing press freedom.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
29 July: A district governor in Turkey’s Şırnak province blocked the prosecution of a police officer who fatally struck 7-year-old Miraç Miroğlu with an armored vehicle, citing an internal police report that claimed the officer had “no alternative but to hit the child.”
29 July: Turkish prosecutors issued detention warrants for 25 individuals, including top executives of İstanbul’s public transport and asphalt companies, in a new wave of politically charged corruption raids targeting the opposition-run İstanbul Municipality.
29 July: A Turkish appeals court upheld the acquittal of ISIL suspect Erman Ekici on crimes against humanity charges in the 2015 Ankara train station bombing, sparking outrage from victims’ families who accuse the judiciary of shielding state complicity and refusing to acknowledge the massacre’s political context.
31 July: Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that Tayfun Kahraman was denied a fair trial in the Gezi Park case, ordering a retrial and raising hopes for justice among other imprisoned civil society figures.
Kurdish Minority
1 August: The Avesta Language and Culture Research Association in İzmir, which has conducted Kurdish language and cultural activities since 2018, was sealed by authorities over alleged unauthorized education, drawing condemnation from rights advocates who called the closure unlawful and politically driven.
Refugees and Migrants
30 July: In Turkey’s Ceylanpınar district, two Syrian nationals were reportedly subjected to physical abuse by soldiers at a border post, with footage of the incident allegedly shared by a soldier on their personal social media account.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
29 July: District governor Turgay Gülenç is accused of assaulting five boys aged 12 and 13 in Mersin after a dispute involving his son, prompting outrage over violations of child protection laws and abuse of office.
30 July: Fatma Öztimur, imprisoned in Istanbul’s overcrowded Bakırköy Women’s Prison for alleged Gülen movement links, is serving a 7.5-year sentence while caring for her 20-month-old baby and 4-year-old autistic child, as announced by MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu.
30 July: Şükrü Genç, the 71-year-old former CHP mayor of Sarıyer imprisoned on terror charges, is reportedly “slowly dying” from untreated colon cancer and other chronic illnesses in Silivri Prison, amid growing criticism of politically influenced medical neglect in Turkey’s prison system.
Transnational Repression
28 July: Turkey’s intelligence agency MIT has intensified covert efforts to recruit informants from the diaspora during summer visits, using pressure and rewards to target critics and dual nationals.
Women’s Rights
29 July: Women’s rights activists in Mersin protested the murder of three women in one day by male relatives, condemning government inaction and policies they say normalize femicide and silence victims under the guise of protecting the “sacred family.”
