1-7 September 2025
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 45 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.
5 September: Turkish authorities detained 41 people in nationwide raids across 21 provinces over alleged Gülen movement ties, with 25 arrested and seven released under supervision, as part of a crackdown that has seen over 126,000 convicted and 11,085 still imprisoned since 2016.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
7 September: Educator İbrahim Güngör (72), a former İzmir Gediz University administrator jailed over alleged Gülen movement links, died in İzmir City Hospital’s intensive care unit after being returned to prison despite severe Alzheimer’s, pneumonia, and other illnesses, with his family’s repeated pleas for release ignored.
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
2 September: Police used physical force to detain eight people during a vigil in Ankara organized by the Association for Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners (TAYAD) in support of Serkan Onur Yılmaz, who is on hunger strike in prison.
4 September: A state-run dormitory in Mersin permanently evicted 15 female students accused of joining protests over İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s detention, citing activities deemed harmful to “national unity,” though the students deny involvement and plan legal action.
5 September: In İstanbul, five people, including three members of the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP), were detained in home raids for participating in a September 2, 2025 protest march organized by Boğaziçi University students over the killing of 15-year-old Hilal Özdemir in an armed attack during a wedding on campus.
Freedom of Expression and Media
1 September: Turkey’s media regulator RTÜK enforced a five-day blackout and a fine on pro-opposition broadcaster TELE 1 over commentator Merdan Yanardağ’s remarks on the 2016 coup attempt, with the sanction effective until September 6.
2 September: Journalist Can Taşkın, editor of CT Haber, was arrested in Nevşehir on charges of “disseminating misleading information” after publishing reports alleging local officials used President Erdoğan and Interior Minister Yerlikaya’s names to pressure businesspeople for money.
2 September: Turkish authorities blocked access to 311,091 websites in 2024 — the highest annual figure since monitoring began — bringing the total to over 1.26 million since 2007, according to the Freedom of Expression Association.
6 September: The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking six to 15 years in prison for journalist Furkan Karabay, detained for 114 days over his critical reporting on opposition mayors, on charges including “insulting the president” and “targeting public officials.”
7 September: An İstanbul court blocked exiled journalist Can Dündar’s YouTube channel on “national security and public order” grounds after he urged street protests against government-appointed CHP trustees.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
3 September: An İstanbul court annulled the CHP’s October 2023 provincial congress, dismissed chair Özgür Çelik and his board, suspended 196 delegates, and appointed a five-member caretaker board, a move critics say paves the way for annulling the party’s national leadership vote in a September 15 hearing.
5 September: Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) announced the sale of Maydonoz Döner and related assets, including 390 restaurants and the My Fried Chicken brand, for a base price of 2.8 billion lira as part of its liquidation of companies seized over alleged Gülen movement ties.
Prison Conditions
4 September: Turkey’s prison population reached 419,194 as of September 1, exceeding official capacity by over 114,000, after rising by more than 16,000 since April and nearly eightfold since 2000, according to Justice Ministry data.
Women’s Rights
5 September: In August, 29 women were murdered and 28 died under suspicious circumstances in Turkey, with most killed by male relatives at home, highlighting entrenched impunity and worsening gender-based violence following the country’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
